LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 
Shelf ...MS 



i UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



The Lungs 



BASIC PRINCIPLES FOR THEIR 
HEALING AND DEVELOPMENT 



BY 



J. J. FOX, M.D. 



NEW YORK : 
C. T. HURLBURT & CO. 

1893. 

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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1893, 

By J. J. Fox, M.D., 

In the office of the librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



GONTRNT8 



Respiratory System : 

The Nose 9 

The Douche in the Treatment of Nasal Catarrh 12 

The Mouth 16 

The Throat 18 

The Epiglottis and Glottis 19 

The Larynx 19 

The Trachea 21 

The Lungs 22 

The Pleura 24 

The Diaphragm . 25 

The Thorax or Chest 25 

Vital Force : 

Reasons Why a Knowledge of It Is Indispensable 27 

The Human Organism a Machine 29 

Character of Vital Force 31 

Brain Vibrations 32 

Character of Motive Force as Judged by the Mechanism 

of the Machine that Generates It 34 

The Circulation of Vital Force 35 

The Origin of Physical Force 37 

Duality of Parts, Functions and Forces 38 

What Is Vital Force? 40 

Equilibrium of Life Forces 42 

Mental Cures 44 

Alimentation : 

Nutrition 48 

Indigestion 50 

Mastication 51 

The Saliva 52 

The Stomach.... 53 

The Gastric Juice 54 

Functions of the Stomach 55 

The Physiological Causes of Indigestion, or Dyspepsia... 56 

The Circulation of the Digestive Fluids • 63 



4 CONTENTS. 

Alimentation : 

Assimilation.... 64 

Rules for Eating . 66 

What You Shouldn't Eat 67 

What You May Eat . 72 

Diet When a Marked Loss of Weight Has Occurred 73 

What You Should Not Drink 75 

Milk 76 

Circulatory System : 

The Blood 79 

The Heart and General Circulation 79 

Circulation of Blood through the Organic Cellular Tis- 
sue of the Lungs 81 

Lung Nutrition 86 

How the Cells of the Lungs are Made. 88 

Oxygen 91 

Nitrogen * 94 

Carbonic Acid , 95 

Respiration 97 

Changes in the Blood during Respiration 98 

Changes that Occur to the Air after It Enters the Lungs . 99 

Normal and Morbid Conditions: 

Vital Lung Power 100 

Vital Capacity 102 

Changes that Occur in the Human Organism from a Loss 

of Vital Force 104 

Tuberculosis 107 

Microbes Not the Cause of Pulmonary Phthisis 108 

Symptoms of Pulmonary Phthisis 110 

Persons Predisposed to Pulmonary Phthisis 112 

Natural Methods: 

Nature 115 

The Education of the Involuntary through the Voluntary . 116 

The Philosophy of Exercise 118 

Breathing in General.. , 121 

Chest Expansion , 123 

Position for Lung Development 123 

The Physiological Effects of Holding the Breath as an 
Exercise , 124 



contents. 6 

Natural Methods : 

Lung Healing 127 

Exercises for Lung Healing 131 

General Exercises for the Lungs 135 

Lung Development 13G 

Lung Development in Children 138 

Those Who Are in Special Need of Lung Development... 139 
Exercises for Maximum Lung Development 140 

General Remarks : 

To the Patient 142 

Inflammation ... 143 

Catching Cold.., 146 

How You Catch Cold 150 

Your Mind 153 

Anger 156 

Enjoyments 159 

Habits 162 

Smoking and Physical Development 163 

Attachments 166 

The Skin 169 

Fever 172 

Haemorrhage from the Lungs 174 

Sweating in General 175 

Constipation 178 

Diarrhoea 184 

Baths 185 

Clothing i 187 

Ladies' Clothing 189 

Your Bedroom 192 

Sleep 195 

Reasons Why Patients Should Live an Out-Door Life. ... 200 

Physical Exercises 204 

Your Physician 206 

Drugging 209 

Medical Treatment 212 

Advantages of a Sanitarium for the Treatment and Cure 

of Pulmonary Phthisis 214 

An Appeal , 216 



Prrfagr. 



Since a cure of any abnormal condition of the lungs — 
such as pulmonary phthisis — depends as much on the 
patient carrying out the basic principles of right living 
as it does on his physician's treatment, it is evident that 
he should have a correct knowledge of them in all their 
details. Medical advice is seldom ever observed. In the 
first place, the fee given the doctor is not adequate to 
enable him to devote hours to each individual by way of 
teaching him the many important things necessary for 
him to know in order to make a cure of his case possible. 
In the second place, the fault is not wholly with the 
patient, since the hurried advice given him is usually of 
the nature of generalities, and not, as is always necessary, 
markedly specific. For, to tell a patient to drop all his 
bad habits, and, in every possible manner, live a normal 
life, and yet permit him to be the judge as to just what 
is good or bad for him, is of no value whatever. To 
require him to exercise his lungs, yet not inform him 
what kind of exercises to take, or how they will aid in 
healing or developing them, is mere verbiage, and nothing 
more. To even emphasize the necessity of eating whole- 
some food, as well as observe all dietary rules as an aid 
to its proper digestion, is to say nothing, for his idea of 
what is good food is to eat what he likes best — his rule 
being to merely gratify his appetite. 

In fact, all so-called instructions given in a general, 
off-handed way are sure to bear but negative results. 
The design of this work is to obviate this as much as 
possible by making it a handbook wherein can be found 



PREFACE. 7 

such facts and advice as would be given the patient by 
his physician. And, even though the latter may not 
agree with the writer concerning some of the theories 
advanced, still the practical conclusions deducted and 
the advice given can surely meet with no serious ob- 
jection, since treatment of any nature must be founded 
on the basic principles of right living on the part of the 
patient in order to make it at all effective. 

The failure to cure more cases of pulmonary phthisis 
by the profession is, undoubtedly, largely due to the 
patient's ignorance of just what is required of him to do. 

Kealizing that a work of this nature for popular 
reading should be void of technicalities, has led the 
writer to exclude them as much as possible, as well as to 
frequently repeat words, sentences, ideas and facts in 
order to make it easy of comprehension ; in other words, 
to make it a plain matter-of-fact talk to the patient. 

And, though the advice given herein is ostensibly 
directed to the invalid, still, all facts pertaining to the 
lungs, as well as the basic principles of right living, are 
just as applicable to the person who desires to retain 
good health or attain superb physical development. 
Even the amateur or professional athlete will find it de- 
cidedly to his advantage to be posted on this subject of 
the lungs, since no man can excel in any sport only to 
the degree that he has good wind, and to this are those 
indebted who do. A person may have muscles of iron, 
but for wind, endurance and agility he must look to his 
lungs. 

Now, while we are opposed to all forms of brutal 
sport, we are heartily in favor of those that are legiti- 
mate, since the foundation of good health and mental 
energy in both man and woman is physical development. 



8 PREFACE. 

A practical application of our lung exercises for a period 
of years, as we present them, enables us to positively 
state that they will do all that is claimed for them, for 
we have never yet met with a person who has strictly ad- 
hered to them for any length of time but who was cor- 
respondingly benefited. 

Neither have we ever known an instance during that 
time when we thoroughly explained to our patients, or 
others seeking information on the subject, such questions 
as the philosophy of exercise, till they were made to com- 
prehend their full significance, but what they became 
enthusiasts in favor of lung development. Indeed, the 
results have always proved so pleasing and surprising in 
their effects that they generally continue them indefi- 
nitely. In substance, they are unanimous in declaring 
that they have made them stronger physically, mentally 
and morally, and that everything they do they can do 
much easier and better than ever before. 

Man is not a mere automaton; for, without his rea- 
son is made to grasp the fundamental principles in- 
volved in work of this nature that you give him to do, 
he will not do it. Realizing, then, that all any intelli- 
gent person requires is a clear conception of how the 
facts contained in a treatise of this kind may be utilized 
in the healing or development of his lungs, we consider a 
sufficient excuse for having written it. 

And if, in the future, it will be the means of leading 
some of those poor afflicted mortals called " consumptives " 
out of the morass of despair into the light of hope and 
to the ultimate restoration of their health, we will, indeed, 
have accomplished our purpose. 

J. J. FOX, M.D. 



RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 



THE NOSE. 



THE organ that first receives the air on its passage to 
the lungs, is the nose. In a work of this kind, it 
is hardly necessary for us to give anything more 
than a mere outlined description of this organ, or 
any other to which we may hereafter refer, since to do 
otherwise would be to simply load down the work and 
thus confuse rather than aid the reader, unless he be in 
search of special knowledge concerning them, in which 
case we would refer him to any of the well-known works 
of anatomy. 

The nose is termed the organ of smell, and for our 
convenience we will divide it into the external nose and 
the internal or air passages. The upper part or root of 
the former is connected with the lower part, of the fore- 
head, while its base has two elliptical openings called 
orifices. It is to be noted that its upper part is bony in 
structure and unyielding to touch, while its base or lower 
portion is not only soft and flexible to pressure, but is 
especially constructed in that way with cartilage and 
elastic tissue for the purposes of expansion and contrac- 
tion, a prime factor always to be found in the general 
make-up of any organ that takes a prominent part in 
the act of respiration. 

The wings or alee nasi of the nose should, when nor- 
mally developed, extend laterally one on each side, the 
orifices pointing down and well distended. 

The internal nose is divided into two pyramidal-shaped 
compartments called the nostrils. They extend upwards 
and backwards into the upper part of the throat called 
the pharynx. These passages are irregular in shape and 



10 RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 

covered over their entire length with mucous membrane. 
They are also divided in the centre by a partition of a 
heavy cartilaginous substance called the septum. Though 
the nose is justly called the organ of smell, that does not 
imply that it has no other function. On the contrary, its 
very use as such depends upon proper breathing through 
it, since all odors are in the air, and in order to reach the 
olfactory nerve, they must of necessity pass through the 
nostrils. When these passages are properly developed 
and otherwise in a normal state of health and vigor, the 
air not only passes freely in and out in response to every 
act of respiration, but also with sufficient rapidity and in 
the required volume. 

A further highly important function of the nose is the 
aid it gives in regulating the temperature of the air as 
inhaled, helping to warm it when cold, and cooling it 
when hot. For when the cold air strikes the mucous 
membrane of the nostrils the latter would be at once 
reduced in temperature, as it imparts its heat to every 
inhalation of cold air that enters, were it not that 
the circulation going on in it instantly responds with 
more warm blood from the system, and in a quant- 
ity sufficient to replace the amount of heat that had 
just been given up to the cold air. Thus it is always 
helping to keep the mucous membrane of the parts in- 
volved in the process of respiration up to their normal 
degree of heat, even though the air of the Frigid Zone were 
inhaled. This accounts for the fact that in cold weather 
we are apt to have much water and mucus secreted in the 
nostrils, the cause being the great stimulation given to 
their mucous membrane by the necessary increased circu- 
lation of blood in order to maintain its normal temperature. 
On the other hand, when the air is too hot, instead of 
passing directly through the nostrils to the lungs, retain- 
ing its heat, the mucous membrane with which it comes 
in contact being of a lower temperature and one that 
corresponds to the general temperature of the whole 
organism, imparts its coldness to it as it passes 
through, so that by the time it reaches the lungs, the 
mucous membrane of the whole respiratory tract aiding 



THE NOSE. 11 

in the matter the temperature of the air will have 
changed to correspond to the normal temperature of the 
lungs and whole body. Again, the returning breath 
from the lungs in health is always of the general temper- 
ature of the entire system, and so imparts to the 
mucous membrane of the nostrils fully as much heat 
or cold as by the preceding inhalation it lost heat 
or cold, thus aiding materially in establishing in the 
mucous membrane of the nostrils, and all other parts 
involved, an equilibrium of temperature that corresponds 
to the normal temperature of the entire system. 

Another highly important function of the nose is 
that of renovating the air as it passes through it. That 
is, on examination we find that the margin of each nos- 
tril is guarded by a fine growth of hair which attracts 
particles of foreign matter to them from the air as it 
enters. Still again, the general act of breathing through 
the nostrils should, when they are in a normal state, be 
almost imperceptible, a slight distention of the wings of 
the nose alone being noticeable ; otherwise, it should be 
involuntary and never labored. It is self-evident, then, 
that all persons breathe with greater or less freedom, 
according to the condition of their nostrils. If they are in 
constant use day and night, kept clean, free and healthy, 
and not malformed, the tendency is for such a person's 
lungs to attain good development without especial train- 
ing. When, however, breathing through the nose is 
made difficult by local causes, the lungs are compelled to 
labor to maintain their normal expansion, and thus, in a 
measure, respiration is retarded. Such obstructed 
breathing, however, will not go on indefinitely, as the 
lungs sooner or later are sure to reduce their action to 
just the point that will admit of involuntary breathing, 
which, of course, could be easily brought about, provided 
the volume of air inhaled during the act of respiration 
was correspondingly reduced. 

Such a shrinkage of the normal volume of the breath 
means a loss of lung capacity, and eventually pulmonary 
phthisis. Even when mouth-breathing is resorted to, it 
generally acts as a bad complication rather than an aid. 



12 RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 

As thus in the nose is often found the real cause of lung 
troubles, it is obvious that you should never resort to 
mouth-breathing, but keep your nostrils healthy, well 
developed and in constant use. In many cases the lat- 
ter are unnaturally small, their wings presenting a 
straight-up-and-down appearance, rather than a lateral 
extension, while, instead of dilating with every breath, 
they remain almost, if not wholly, stationary, their ori- 
fices presenting a constricted slit-like appearance. The 
cause of this is usually congenital or hereditary. Such 
persons generally become mouth-breathers, and eventually 
contract lung troubles, especially after they reach the 
age of maturity, if by that time they have not outgrown 
it, or otherwise had the defect remedied. 

Catarrh in all its forms and stages, as well as the com- 
plications resulting from it, is still another prominent 
cause of obstructed nasal breathing. It is not only the 
discharge, as well as various forms of accumulation, like 
scabs and plugs of mucus, but the thickening of the mu- 
cous membrane itself, that follows as the disease becomes 
chronic, which reduces the calibre of the nostrils, and so 
interferes with normal breathing through them. The 
various malformations found in its bony structure, are 
also cause of improper breathing through the nose. In 
such cases the septum is found flexed to either the one 
side or the other. Its lateral flexion partially closes up 
the nostril, and thus interferes with free breathing. 
Catarrh is usually a complication where there is any form 
of bony protuberance. It has often been noticed that 
persons having such obstructions, die of pulmonary phthisis. 
Still, again, we find growths of various kinds, such as 
polypus tumors, etc., that obstruct the nostrils. 

THE DOUCHE IN THE TREATMENT OF NASAL 
CATAEEH. 

We would seriously advise all persons suffering from 
nasal catarrh in any form whatever not to patronize the 
bona fide or professional quack who makes a specialty 



DOUCHE IN THE TREATMENT OF NASAL CATARRH. 13 

of treating that disease with the douche, spray, etc., 
since the local use, as employed by them, of powerful 
astringents and drugs is extremely dangerous — their 
action suppressing rather than eradicating that disease, 
driving it to the lungs, where it is sure, sooner or later, 
to develop again in the form of pulmonary phthisis. Be- 
sides, you will find, as a general rule, that the above- 
mentioned persons do not trouble themselves about pos- 
sibilities concerning the future state of your health. You 
have the catarrh and wish to have it cured, and, for a cer- 
tain pecuniary consideration, they agree to do it. They 
don't concern themselves as to whether your whole 
family died of pulmonary phthisis or not, or what the 
probabilities are of its rapid development in your case 
after the nasal catarrh has been suppressed. And yet 
the wise physician is bound to take cognizance of your 
family's entire history, and if he finds, as a result of his 
examination, that there is even a remote danger of pul- 
monary disease developing, following a course of local 
treatment of your catarrh, he will refuse to give it, and 
advise constitutional treatment instead. And thus he 
avoids the possibility, as far as lies in his power, of doing 
anything that will aid the development of that dreaded 
disease. He is not guided in this matter simply by 
theory, but by experience which has taught him that 
often, when treating pulmonary phthisis, simultaneously 
with a marked change for the better occurring in the 
lung trouble, a severe nasal catarrh, as well as a sore nose 
and inflamed throat, set in. And, as such a change is 
always to be regarded as a favorable sign not to be neu- 
tralized by local treatment, in like manner when nasal 
catarrh is present in a person whose family history pre- 
disposes him to that disease, he is careful to avoid any 
treatment that will suppress it. If, then, you have " na- 
sal catarrh," and inherit any weakness of the lungs, and 
are troubled -with scrofula, eczema of any description, 
have swelling of the glands in any part of the body, a 
slight hacking cough, catch cold easily, and have repeated 
attacks of bronchitis, are pale, thin, flat-chested, round- 
shouldered, troubled with indigestion and the piles, then 



14 RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 

do not, as you value your life, use the douche for the 
treatment of this condition. If you are such a person, 
then, in order to avoid a serious lung disease that is more 
than likely to follow sooner or later, go to work system- 
atically and develop your lungs, and you will find as 
they increase in strength, and the general oxidization of 
tissue of the system is more thorough, and the absorbing 
glands, as a consequence, have become greatly strength- 
ened, that the catarrh will grow less as the mucous mem- 
brane from the lungs up grows stronger. "We have posi- 
tively known nasal catarrh being entirely cured by lung 
development only. This, however, is not your sole re- 
liance by any means, since this disease, notwithstanding 
the almost universal assertion that it cannot be cured, can 
be most effectually eradicated by constitutional treatment 
alone, which, by the way, does not mean heroic dragging. 
Even when that treatment and the douche are em- 
ployed in combination, only too often we find pulmon- 
ary phthisis following the disappearance of the nasal 
catarrh. It is not our purpose to go into the question of 
medical treatment in this work, since experience has 
taught us that to just the extent that a patient depends 
on it to relieve him, to just that degree will he leave 
undone many more essential things. Yet, notwithstand- 
ing, all such cases should have competent medical 
treatment, the understanding being that it is to be 
merely an aid to cure rather than the sole reliance. Still, 
very many of the worst possible forms of the disease 
can be cured by constitutional treatment alone, as the 
following cases will show : 

Case I. — Mrs. A., domestic; catarrh of years' stand- 
ing ; her presence could not be tolerated by anybody on 
account of the foul odor from her breath. Examination 
revealed the fact that both nostrils were plugged up, 
badly inflamed, ulcerated, and part of the time discharg- 
ing a corrosive, watery secretion. In addition, the roof 
of the mouth was perforated, the opening having the 
circumference of five-cent piece, and from it constantly 
oozed a substance similar to that from the nose. Cured 
by constitutional treatment alone. 



DOUCHE IN THE TREATMENT OF NASAL CATARRH. 15 

Case II. — Child. Father died of pulmonary phthisis ; 
scrofulous condition ; glands of the neck swollen ; bone 
of the left leg close to the ankle-joint very much enlarged, 
and whole part badly inflamed from a slight bruise; 
stinking catarrh of the nostrils. There was also caries or 
destruction of the nasal bones so great that it perforated 
the bridge of the nose on the left side, leaving an open- 
ing all of a half-inch in diameter. In addition, the in- 
flammation was so excessive that it completely involved 
the eyeballs of both eyes, while over both pupils a thick 
white film had formed. This person had been for months 
slowly growing worse up to the time she applied for 
treatment. A good recovery followed constitutional treat- 
ment inside of six weeks. The healing process caused a 
decided flattening of the bridge of the nose, leaving un- 
avoidably a permanent scar over the seat of the perfora- 
tion, while the eyes have entirely recovered with the 
exception of a small, white speck over the left pupil, 
which is, however, slowly but surely disappearing. 

Other cases could be enumerated, but the above des- 
perate ones will suffice to show what constitutional treat- 
ment alone will do for them. The best possible liquid 
for cleansing out the nostrils is sweet milk. In the stink- 
ing form of catarrh, the nasal cavities should be flushed- 
out at least every morning with a pint of it. If done 
three times a day, all the better. In the ordinary 
catarrhal condition, if nothing more, at least a few table- 
spoonsful of milk should be snuffed up from the hollow 
of the hand every morning. Enough should be taken*till 
it begins to drop into the throat. Don't blow it out at 
once, but allow it to remain there as long as possible. 
As for polypus in the nose, we are opposed to having 
them torn out, since the injury to the delicate mucous 
membrane is too great and not necessary, since a little 
powdered bloodroot, used as a snuff, will cause them to 
shrivel up and entirely disappear inside of a week or ten 
days. Concerning malformations and bony protuber- 
ances, these cases require special advice. Operation for 
the removal of the latter may often be admissible, more 
especially where there is danger of pulmonary phthisis. 



16 RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 

It should not be resorted to, however, without the advice 
of more than one physician. Never permit your nasal 
cavities to be cauterized. When the calibre of the latter 
is diminished on account of a thickening of the mucous 
membrane, forcing large volumes of air through them 
should be practiced while remedies to bring about absorp- 
tion can be used to good advantage. Don't experiment 
with medicine, since there is no such a thing as a specific 
for that disease. Go then to a good physician and put 
yourself in his hands for treatment, and at the same time 
begin a systematic development of your lungs. 



THE MOUTH. 

The mouth is at the entrance of the alimentary canal. 
It is a somewhat oval-shaped cavity used for mastication 
of food and reception of drink. Its entire surface is cov- 
ered with mucous membrane. It contains the mouths of 
the salivary glands, and, when not required for eating, 
drinking and speaking, should be kept closed. That is, 
it is not to be used for breathing purposes. It is evident 
from the foregoing that the mouth, not being designed 
or adapted to perform the functions of the nose, should 
by no means be habitually used as a substitute for it. In 
fact, we should no more try to breathe with our mouth 
than to eat with our nose. These organs have not only 
their own anatomical parts differing from each other 
in their general make-up, but each is especially con- 
structed so as to carry on its own specific function. In 
all cases, mouth-breathing is an abnormality, whether 
simply acquired or unavoidable on account of defects or 
disease. It not only detracts from a person's appearance, 
but is a standing menace to his health and, maybe, life 
itself. As one disease is sure to breed another, so the 
habit or condition of mouth-breathing is prolific in the 
propagation of many serious complaints. When we 
breathe through the mouth the air comes in contact with 
its entire cavity. It enters in the centre, however, in its 
largest volume. Here it first comes in contact with the 



THE MOUTH. 17 

tongue, and from there is deflected on to the palate ; 
thence backwards and downwards on to the walls of the 
pharynx and into the larynx. This is the reason the 
tongue gets so dry when we, either awake or asleep, 
breathe with the mouth open. Now, while the circula- 
tion in the mucous membrane of the tongue and all parts 
of the mouth in connection with the exhalation of the 
residual air in the lungs may be sufficient to maintain 
something approaching an equilibrium of temperature, 
and thus protect them, it does not follow that the mouth 
and its organs, the pharynx, epiglottis and glottis, are 
likewise protected, for, while the air breathed in this 
abnormal manner is passing through the mouth, these 
organs and all their parts are exposed to a temperature 
but slightly altered from that of the surrounding atmos- 
phere. 

As a result of this substitution of the function of one 
organ for that of another, and one so entirely foreign to 
the purposes of nature, we find it, as is always the case 
under such circumstances, making an heroic effort to 
adapt itself to the changed order of things. In these 
cases, however, it succeeds in but a degree, for, as a re- 
sult of mouth-breathing, w T e have an increased circulation 
in all the mucous membrane of not only the entire cavity, 
but the throat likewise, much above the normal. In time 
this not only causes a thickening of the mucous mem- 
brane, but also a catarrhal condition of all its parts. 
Usually there are present chronic enlarged tonsils, catarrh 
of the pharynx and nostrils, as well as an almost constant 
dribbling of saliva that would, if this condition had not 
been present, have been utilized for the mastication of 
food. As accompaniments we usually have present dry, 
cracked lips, as well as frequent severe attacks of acute 
tonsillitis and laryngitis. In fact, the mouth thus becomes 
an open sluice-way for all kinds of foreign matter found 
floating in the air, such as dirt and microbes, against 
which the mouth, throat, larynx and lungs are not pro- 
tected. ^>Even where mouth- and nose-breathing occurs 
in alternation we have extreme changes; first, the air, by 
its absorbing power drying up the mucous membrane of 



18 RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 

that organ in all its parts when open ; then, after breath- 
ing for a time through the nose only, we have an excess- 
ive flow of saliva, showing a marked weakness in the 
mouths of the salivary ducts,- until such time as the 
disease becomes chronic, when we have a constant drib- 
bling of saliva, even with the mouth open. Mouth- 
breathers generally have large mouths, made so from a 
continued relaxation of that whole organ. The hanging 
of the jaw, and, in time, a partial protusion of the tongue, 
produces a drawn-down expression of the countenance 
which is the very reverse of the intellectual. It is, indeed, 
a deplorable condition, and one that not only exposes the 
person to frequent attacks of laryngitis, bronchitis and 
pneumonia, but, eventually, to phthisis itself, if he other- 
wise escapes being taken off by the above-mentioned dis- 
eases. 

THE THROAT. 

As for the throat, all malformations, diseases and 
abnormal conditions or uses of either the nostrils or 
mouth are sure to affect it, as the diseased mucous mem- 
brane of those organs is but a continuation of that which 
lines it. This condition superinduces frequent acute at- 
tacks of inflammation, such as tonsillitis ; while as an 
accompaniment we are sure to find a chronic catarrh of 
the throat; for on examination, instead of finding it looking 
smooth, clear and firm in all its parts, the palate up well in 
its place, the tonsils normal in size and free of mucus, and 
the general appearance of the entire throat healthy and 
vigorous, we are sure to find its walls corrugated in 
appearance, as well as smeared over with a slimy-looking 
mucus ; the palate, if not down, looking flabby, and the 
tonsils chronically enlarged ; the whole organ, in fact, 
being weak and diseased. In many cases we also find 
imbedded in its walls little pockets full of a cheesy- 
looking substance which emits a very strong odor. The 
catarrh of the throat is apt to cause a feeling of ful- 
ness, tickling or itching in the Eustachian tubes that lead 
up to the ears, as well as the hawking and spitting of 
mucus or continually cleaning the throat. Indeed, it is 



THE LARYNX. 19 

safe to say, as a general rule, that, as the nose and mouth 
is, so the throat is, the disease of the one leading to a 
similar affection of the others. 



THE EPIGLOTTIS AND GLOTTIS. 

From the root of the tongue extending downward is 
found the epiglottis. It is formed like an oval-shaped 
leaf — concave behind, and convex in front. It is likewise 
covered with a mucous membrane, which is but a mere 
continuation of that which covers the adjacent parts. Its 
especial function is to stand guard over the glottis dur- 
ing the act of deglutition, for when food or liquid is 
being swallowed it closes down over that part, and 
thereby excludes any particle from entering. "When, 
however, a morsel is unavoidably sucked into the air 
passages, severe coughing and strangling are experienced 
until it is ejected. Frequently, spasms of the epiglottis 
occur with such severity as to completely prevent the air 
from entering the lungs, thereby causing death. (Edema, 
or dropsy, often attacks this organ with fatal results ; 
Also when badly inflamed, it gives rise to an almost inces- 
sant strangling cough until relieved. Immediately 
beneath the epiglottis we find the glottis, a narrow slit 
like an entrance, opening into the larynx. It possesses 
a point of interest to us inasmuch as all the air that 
enters the lungs has to pass through this opening. It is 
also covered with a mucous membrane similar to that 
surrounding it. Breathing causes expansion and con- 
traction of the glottis in a manner corresponding with 
the action of the diaphragm and intercostals during the 
general act of respiration. (Edema or dropsy frequently 
closes this passage wholly, thereby excluding the air so 
perfectly from the lungs as to cause death by suffocation. 

THE LARYNX. 

We next come to the larynx, the organ of voice placed 
at the extreme upper part of the trachea, opening up- 



20 RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 

wards into the lower part of the mouth, and downwards 
into the trachea. It is narrow and tube-like in its struct- 
ure below, while its upper part is broad. It is composed 
of cartilages, muscles, glands and mucous membrane, 
which latter covers its entire cavity. Within this organ 
are found the vocal cords, four in number — two true, 
and two false — the latter being situated directly above 
the former, leaving a little space between them, called a 
ventricle. The true vocal cords are much stronger than 
the false, and are alone productive of the human voice. 
These cords are also covered with a very fine mucous 
membrane similar to that of the entire structure. Mouth- 
breathing, as well as catarrhal diseases of the throat and 
nostrils, is sure to weaken this organ, causing not only 
a cracked, uncertain voice, but, in time, catarrh, inflam- 
mation, or laryngitis, croup, hoarseness, and, eventually, 
ulceration, loss of voice, and even laryngeal consumption. 

In the matter of singing, a person may have a strong 
healthy larynx and vocal cords well cultivated and 
coupled with the natural faculty of song, but, if the lung 
capacity be small, the voice will lack in volume. The 
lungs are to the larynx what a bellows is to its nozzle. A 
singer may reach a high note with a small lung capacity, 
if the entire respiratory tract is still healthy, provided he 
or she possesses the faculty of song, and has it well under 
cultivation. This would not prove, however, that the 
lungs were strong and well developed, or that the singer 
could not do far better if they were. 

Singing strengthens the larynx, and to quite a degree 
protects it against the diseases that usually attack it. It 
is also a grand aid in lung development. As it is, we 
occasionally find even a consumptive in the last stage of 
the disease with apparently a deep, clear voice, though 
lacking, of course, in power and volume. This would not 
prove, however, that his lungs were strong ; neither would 
it even if he made a supreme effort and struck a high 
note. It would simply mean that he was enabled to 
accomplish it on account of the fact that his larynx had 
not been invaded by the disease ; that his voice was natur- 
ally strong, and that he possessed the faculty of song, 



THE TRACHEA. 21 

and so had succeeded in his effort with a very small 
volume of air. Thus, we see that, all things being equal, 
a well-cultivated larynx and vocal cords do not prove 
that the lung capacity is well developed, as, in fact, the 
capacity may be below the normal and the lungs seriously 
diseased. On the other hand, it is self-evident that no 
matter how well a person may do with a healthy, well- 
cultivated larynx, either in singing or speaking with 
mere ordinary lung development, he could do exceedingly 
better were they developed to their maximum capacity. 
Thus, we may safely assert that a full development of 
the human voice depends entirely on a corresponding 
increase of lung power and capacity. 

For advice concerning the various diseases of the 
larynx, as well as the proper diet, provided singing is 
chosen as a profession, go to a specialist. 

THE TEACHEA. 

The trachea, or air tube, extends downwards from the 
lower part of the larynx about four-and-a-half inches. It 
is cartilaginous in structure, and made up of imperfectly 
formed rings, varying in number, in different indi- 
viduals, anywhere from sixteen to twenty, and connected 
at their margins by muscular fibres, as well as elastic 
material. The diameter of this tube varies from three- 
fourths of an inch to an inch. It is divided into two bron- 
chi, one for each lung. The right bronchus is about one 
inch in length, while the left one is nearly two inches 
long, though smaller in diameter. The mucous mem- 
brane lines the entire inside of this tube. There are also 
found situated, at the back part of the organ, the bron- 
chial glands in great abundance, with excretory ducts 
opening on the surface of the mucous membrane, from 
which flows the secretion that lubricates the whole inside 
surface of the tube. The special diseases that attack 
these tubes are as follows : Inflammation in all its stages 
from an acute to a chronic attack of bronchitis ; asthma, 
either acute or chronic ; ulceration in any part of them 
from which one may have slight repeated haemorrhages, 



22 RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 

especially if the ulceration is superficial ; or, if deep, and 
the larger blood vessels are involved, severe haemorrhages, 
that frequently end in death. 

When pneumonia is present, either in the catarrhal or 
croupous form, the inflammation usually extends from the 
part of the lung invaded by the disease into these tubes, 
which latter are also generally involved in a greater or 
less degree in pulmonary phthisis. 

THE LUNGS. 

The lungs are the organs of respiration, two in num- 
ber, situated right and left in the thorax or chest, and 
separated from each other in the centre directly under the 
sternum by the heart and its bloodvessels. They are 
conical in shape, their apices situated in the extreme 
upper part of the chest, even higher than the level of the 
first rib, while the base of each is convex and rests upon 
the diaphragm. Their two surfaces are smooth, the one 
in front being convex, the one in the rear more concave. 
Counting from the first rib downwards to a little below 
the sixth, we have very nearly thS exact boundaries of the 
lungs. Each lung is divided into lobes, and each lobe into 
lobules. The right, being the broader of the two, is also 
about one inch shorter, owing to the diaphragm rising 
higher on the right side to accommodate the liver. The 
right lung has three lobes, while the left, though longer 
and not so broad, has but two. The weight of both lungs 
is on an average about forty-two ounces, the right about 
two ounces the heavier. They are also heavier in the 
male than in the female. The color of the lungs at birth 
is a pinkish white. In adult life, however, they assume a 
dark slate color, and, as the age of the individual increases, 
their color becomes almost black. In substance, they are 
light, porous and spongy, crepitating when being handled, 
owing to the air within the air cells, which causes them 
to float when placed in water. The lung tissue is also 
highly elastic, thus enabling it to expand and contract. 
The ramifications of the bronchial tubes as they paiss 
through the lungs to the air cells divide and subdivide, 



THE LUNGS. 23 

growing smaller as they proceed, like the branches of a 
tree after leaving the main trunk, till they terminate in 
the air cells. These cells vary in diameter from one two- 
hundredths to one-seventieth of an inch, being larger on 
the surface of the lungs and smaller in their interior. In 
structure, the lung is made up of an external or serous 
coat, and beneath this is another tissue containing a large 
proportion of elastic fibre, while underneath that we find 
the ramifications of the pulmonary blood vessels, the 
lymphatic glands and nerves, all connected together, mak- 
ing up the body of the lung structure. The air cells are 
separated from each other by a very thin partition called 
a "septum." 

The pulmonary artery carries the venous blood to the 
lungs. It divides, in the same manner as the bronchial 
tubes, each branch accompanying a branch of the tube, 
which terminates in a dense capillary network upon the 
walls of the air cells. 

The pulmonary capillaries lie beneath the mucous 
membrane of the walls of the septa and air cells. 

The bronchial arteries supply the lung substance with 
nutrition, and originate from the thoracic aorta. 

Accompanying the bronchial tubes are the bronchial 
glands. The nerves that supply the lungs are branches, 
chiefly, of the sympathetic and pneumogastric. The fol- 
lowing are the special diseases that attack the lungs : 
Asthma, a nervous, spasmodic complaint ; emphysema, a 
rupture of the air cells one into the other ; oedema, or 
dropsy; capillary bronchitis, or inflammation of the 
smaller ramifications of the bronchial tubes ; pneumonia, 
either in the form of a very severe catarrhal inflammation, 
or in the form characterized by an exudation of a serous or 
fibrous substance in the part attacked, which is usually 
but one part or lobe, rarely the whole lung. Following 
severe inflammation, gangrene, or mortification of the 
lungs, may occur. Acute miliary tuberculosis, or what 
is sometimes termed granular phthisis, also attacks the 
lungs, usually terminating fatally in a few weeks. We 
have enumerated the above complaints for the reason 
that true pulmonary phthisis, otherwise known as con- 



24 RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 

sumption, may set in or follow either an acute or chronic 
attack of most of these diseases, causing, as they do, the 
loss of vital force that always favors its development. 

THE PLEUEA. 

Surrounding the outer structure of the lungs, is a thin, 
delicate, serous membrane, called the " pleura," which not 
only covers, and is attached to each lung separately, but 
also to almost the entire inside walls of the thorax and 
the upper surface of the diaphragm. The space between 
the two surfaces of the pleura, as adhering to the lung 
on the one side, and the thorax and diaphragm on the 
other, forms a closed sac. Within this pleural sac or 
cavity we have the two surfaces facing each other, having 
a smooth, polished appearance, and moistened by a serous 
fluid for lubricating purposes, which prevents friction, as 
the lungs within expand and contract during the act of 
respiration. The disease to which this organ is especially 
predisposed is the inflammation known as " pleurisy. " The 
attack usually begins with a chill, followed by fever, and 
a severe shooting, stabbing pain anywhere in the region 
of the lungs, but usually in either one of the sides. It is 
generally severe enough to compel the patient to resort 
to very superficial abdominal breathing in order to cause 
as little pain as possible, since deep breathing, coughing, 
speaking or moving greatly augments it. When the 
patient has breathed in this quiescent manner for several 
consecutive days, little thread-like bands of fleshy ma- 
terial form between the two smooth surfaces of the 
pleura, and thus practically unite them, making impossi- 
ble the movements of that particular part of one pleural 
surface upon the other during the act of respiration. 
These are called pleuritic adhesions, and, instead of 
diminishing in number as the years go on, they increase, 
subjecting the patient to repeated attacks of pleurisy, 
any one of which may prove fatal, or lead to complica- 
tions that will. When these adhesions are present, the 
person otherwise being in good health, they always pre- 
vent proper lung expansion and contraction, and thus, in 



THE THORAX OR CHEST. 25 

time, by a loss of lung force and capacity, lead to pul- 
monary phthisis. The formation of these adhesions may 
be prevented if the patient be otherwise well treated. 
Even where they already exist, proper lung exercise will 
not only prevent them from becoming more numerous, 
but will often, as the lungs approach their maximum de- 
velopment, cause them to break away. The other dis- 
eases that frequently attack this organ are as follows : 
Pneumothorax, or collection of air or gas within the 
pleural sac ; hydrothorax, or dropsy of the chest, a col- 
lection of watery fluid called serum within the pleural 
cavity; haemo thorax, a collection of blood within the pleural 
cavity. These diseases usually follow an acute attack of 
pleurisy. When any one or all of the above conditions 
become chronic, they are sure to implicate the lungs, and 
thus lead to pulmonary phthisis. 



THE DIAPHRAGM. 

The diaphragm is a fibrous muscle situated like a wall 
or partition between the thoracic and abdominal cavities. 
It is attached to the whole internal circumference of the 
thorax by fleshy fibres. It plays a very important part 
in the act of respiration. When a forced expiration has 
occurred, it is found to be on a level in front with the 
fourth costal cartilage ; from thence downward to the 
seventh and behind to the eighth ribs. In forced inspir- 
ation it descends from one to two inches. There could 
be no breathing without the diaphragm; for, when the 
phrenic nerve that supplies it is severed, death from suf- 
focation immediately follows. In all expulsive acts, such 
as sneezing and coughing, it is called into action. 



THE THOEAX OR CHEST. 

The thorax, or chest, as commonly called, is a frame- 
work consisting of bones and fibrous material in which are 
located the lungs, heart, its blood vessels and the thoracic 



26 EESPIBATORY SYSTEM. 

duct. It extends from a level just above the first rib to 
a space just below the sixth, to a point backwards and 
downwards to the twelfth dorsal vertebra. It is conical 
in shape, its base resting on the diaphragm. Its bony 
structure consists of the sternum in front, ribs laterally, 
and vertebrae behind, while its muscles, that are of 
more special interest to us, are the internal and external 
intercostals. They are situated between the ribs, and 
joined to the upper and lower margins of each pair. 
These are the muscles which expand and contract during 
the act of respiration. They are especially enabled to do 
this work, as they contain elastic, fibrous material. Even 
the ribs in their sockets are so adjusted to the cartilages 
of the vertebrae as to enable them to rotate sufficiently to 
permit respiration to its fullest possible extent. In fact, 
the whole thorax is so constructed that it responds in 
perfect unison to all the organs and parts involved in the 
act of breathing. Externally the thorax is but a reflec- 
tion of the condition of the lungs within. "When a cavity 
exists in either one of the lungs, we have a corresponding 
depression of the thorax over that part. If the latter 
are lacking in development, we find, from an external view, 
an imperfectly developed thorax. If the person stoops 
and the shoulders are drawn forward, it is because the 
apices of the lung within are depressed and poorly 
developed, if not weak and diseased. If the distance 
through the lung from the nipple to the under angle of 
the scapula or shoulder blade is small, then the lungs are 
correspondingly lacking in diameter. Also, when the 
vital capacity is not up to the standard, then the descent 
of the diaphragm is so limited that the distance from the 
apex of the lung to its base is shorter than it otherwise 
would be if properly developed. On the other hand, 
when the lungs are very powerful, we have a rounding 
out of the whole chest, the shoulders well back, and its 
circumference not only large, but its diameter in any 
and all directions increased. 



KNOWLEDGE OF VITAL FORCE INDISPENSABLE. 27 



VITAL FORCE. 

REASONS WHY A KNOWLEDGE OF IT IS 
INDISPENSABLE. 

From the foregoing chapters the reader is given an 
outline description of the respiratory organs which is all- 
sufficient to enable him to obtain an intelligent concep- 
tion of their form, structure and correct location. There 
has been pointed out, however, but a few of the many 
parts of what, as a whole, constitute the human organ- 
ism, which is in reality nothing more or less than a 
machine run by an invisible motive power known as u vital 
force." And, as we shall frequently have occasion to refer 
to that power as we proceed with the subject matter of our 
work, we find it necessary to discuss it here in order that 
its application to any question that shall hereafter be 
touched upon will be easily and correctly understood. 

While anatomy in the hands of the medical profession 
has ever advanced since its infancy as a science, strange 
as it may seem, it knows even in this enlightened age little 
concerning the great question of vital force. Physiolo- 
gists approach the subject, but content themselves with 
merely designating it to be vital energy, and then draw 
back as though fearful of starting a ghost if they went a 
step further. For two very good reasons this is not alto- 
gether surprising, for at a first glance it v/ould seem as 
though any discussion of this matter must of necessity lead 
up to the mere speculative propounding of theories concern- 
ing the subject of spirit, and thus prove of little practical 
value. In arriving at any such conclusion, however, they 
have evidently overlooked the fact that the question of vital 
energy, like all other manifestations of force in nature, 
has its physical phase, as well as its remote or unknow- 
able one. While with the latter in a work of this nature 
we have little to do, with the former we hold that, if the 
machinery of the human organism is worthy of our deepest 



28 VITAL FORCE. 

study, that the motive power that operates it is of equal 
if not of greater importance to us. Indeed, until such 
time as we have acquired a scientific knowledge of this 
very subject, physiology will rest on an erroneous basis in 
many important respects. What scientist should refuse 
to discuss the question of steam-power for fear that it 
might lead up in some manner to the diseussion of spirit 
in matter. Moreover, what would we think of the capa- 
bility of an engineer who, while well acquainted with 
the mechanism of his engine, had little or no knowledge 
of the nature of steam as the motive force that runs it. 

What valid reason is there, then, for avoiding a dis- 
cussion of this most important of all physiological ques- 
tions by our able physiologists ! 

If the medical profession continue to ignore it, and 
humanity is left in profound ignorance concerning this 
whole subject, is it to be wondered at that myriads of hu- 
man beings go on squandering their vitality up to the very 
day of their death, even when stricken with pulmonary 
phthisis, and never realize for a moment what they are 
doing ? Of what service is the collated facts concerning 
the construction of the human machine, called " anatomy," 
to them in their dire extremity ! On the other hand, 
who will deny that a knowledge of vital force, impressed 
by the profession on the minds of humanity, would not 
be of inestimable value to a great many of those unfortu- 
nate ones? Is it not incumbent on us, then, to teach 
them such facts concerning this same force that they 
may be made to understand that it is practically a phys- 
ical power, not to be wasted without harm to the general 
organism, and that in no sense is it a reflexed energy from 
the spirit, to be drawn upon with impunity. 

Ignorance is forever in conspiracy with death. How 
can we reasonably expect the world's many millions, who 
annually die of pulmonary phthisis, to live the ideal life 
that will enable them to not only conserve their vitality, 
as well as utilize it in the eradication of their disease, if 
the profession remain dumb concerning it ! 

Our purpose, then, is to not only emphasize the fact 
that we have within our bodies a well-defined physical 



THE HUMAN OKGANISM A MACHINE. 29 

force, but that the human organism, like an electric 
dynamo, can only generate during a certain specific 
length of time but a definite amount of that power, and 
that any and all protracted waste of it, either through 
the function of any organ or sense, is always at the 
expense of every other part and organ of the entire body; 
especially so, as we shall see later on, to those that are 
weak and diseased. Again, it is not a mere question of 
waste alone, for that would imply that the system is 
capable of generating under any circumstances, whether 
diseased or not, a maximum degree of that force. Un- 
fortunately, this is not the case, for the body is, when 
afflicted with such a disease as pulmonary phthisis, like 
an old worn-out machine or dilapidated steam engine, 
unable to generate the energy necessary to keep it in a 
normal state. Thus we have ever before us, when 
attempting to cure pulmonary phthisis, the problem of 
how to accomplish our purpose with but a minimum 
degree of vital power to aid our efforts. 



THE HUMAN OKGANISM A MACHINE. 

We have referred to the human organism being, like 
any other piece of mechanism, a machine with many 
parts, the whole depending on each part, and each part 
upon the whole. Thus, on examination, we find it made 
up of many systems, each intimately associated with and 
dependent upon the other, yet all distinctly different in 
structure as well as function. For the foundation, we 
have a bony framework upon which the whole body is 
built. Next comes the system of ligaments for holding 
the bones together, with muscles attached to them for 
propelling purposes. Organs, each doing their own 
specific work, like a cog-wheel here, a pulley there, and a 
shaft somewhere else. Over all we have the integument, 
or skin, while within upon the inner surfaces of all the 
organs we have the internal skin, or mucous membrane. 
Besides, we have distinct systems within the organism, 
such as the organs of deglutition — mouth, stomach and 



30 VITAL FORCE. 

bowels — forming the digestive system ; heart and blood- 
vessels, the circulatory system ; nostrils, throat, larynx, 
bronchial tubes and lungs, the respiratory system ; brain, 
spinal cord and nerves, the nervous system ; liver, biliary 
ducts and gall-bladder, the biliary system ; kidneys and 
bladder, the urinary system ; as well as others in connec- 
tion with the pancreas and spleen. Many of these could 
be further subdivided, but it is not necessary for our 
purpose. Also, in the matter of motive power that con- 
trols them, we find no part of these systems generate of 
themselves their own vital force, but that on the contrary 
they are acted upon by a motive energy that is transmitted 
directly to them through the nerves, even as electricity 
is transmitted from a dynamo to its circuit. In exactly 
the same sense is the organism a machine run by a ner- 
vous motive force. And, like all other machines, it is 
just as likely to get out of order, as every motion of its 
parts entails a loss of material in the way of wear and 
tear. 

No machine runs of itself, for, as cog fits into cog, 
and every cog is part of the gear, and they, as well as the 
shaft, pulley and belt, are but parts of the machinery 
that is run by some invisible force apart from the ma- 
chinery itself, so we find every cell, organ and system of 
the human body fitting one into the other, and all per- 
fectly adjusted to work in unison with each other, as is 
necessary in all machines. And, as a machine is con- 
structed as a whole, to be operated upon by a power out- 
side of itself, so we find the human organism made and 
put together for identically the same purpose. And, as 
the motive power is transmitted from the source where it 
is generated to all the machinery, and every molecule 
of matter of which the entire structure is composed is 
controlled by it, so we find the whole mechanism of the 
human organism permeated in every possible direction 
with millions of wire-like nerves, over which the motive 
power that operates it is transmitted to every atom of 
matter in the entire body. We have said that no 
machine can run of itself, which implies that no single 
part can. For, if but a single cog be injured, we have at 



CHARACTER OF VITAL FORCE. 31 

once an imperfect working of it. Or, if a wheel becomes 
loosened, or a belt broken, then that particular part of 
the machinery that is supplied by the motive power trans- 
mitted to it stops at once, as the propelling force is cut 
off. It is precisely the same with the human organism, 
for when a special part of it is diseased, it will cause an 
imperfect working of that particular portion. Or, if the 
nerve over which that power is transmitted is severed, 
the function of that organ comes to a stop. Now, the 
nearer we approach the seat or locality where the motive 
force of the machine is generated, and that part breaks 
down, we have, as a result, not merely the stopping of one 
portion, but of many, if not the whole machine. Thus, 
if the fire goes out in the furnace, and no steam is gener- 
ated, or the boiler explodes, the whole machinery comes to 
a complete standstill. So, as we approach the brain, the 
seat where the motive force of the body is generated, 
and any severe injury occurs, such as severing the ob- 
longata, then the whole machinery of the organism comes 
to a stop, and death occurs. Also, if the food, which is 
the fuel of the system, is withheld for a definite length 
of time, the motive force grows weaker and weaker, and 
at length, the power being no longer generated, the ma- 
chinery of the body ceases to go, and death from 
starvation follows. 

CHAEACTEE OF VITAL FOECE. 

Having ascertained that there is such a thing as a 
motive or vital force generated in the brain, we are 
enabled to learn something of its character by observing 
how it manifests itself through the different organs of 
the body. "We find that, as it acts upon the mind, ideas 
and words follow one after another in a "make and 
break " order — the word being positive, and the interval 
between each one negative. So with the lungs, inhaling 
being a positive act, and exhaling a negative one. In 
like manner the heart has its positive contractions and 
negative relaxation which constitute the heart-beat. If 
the force is rapid, slow, bounding or almost impercept- 



32 VITAL FORCE. 

ible, we have the pulse corresponding to it in every par- 
ticular, simply obeying its impulse, and thus this invisible 
force is made manifest to our physical senses. By the 
action of the diaphragm (stomach), and in fact all the 
organs of the body, we find it manifested through each 
of them somewhat differently, and yet all are similar. As 
is apparent, this force is intermittent in character. A 
further proof of this is, that if a nerve be injured we have 
a tingling vibratory feeling along its entire course — not 
from the point of injury toward the brain, but in the 
direction of the extremity, showing that the force flows 
in that direction. 



BEAIN VTBKATIONS. 

We have seen that the motive force that operates the 
system does not pass from the brain to the entire body in 
one uninterrupted flow, but is intermittent or vibratory in 
its current. Now, if these vibrations were all of one char- 
acter, it is evident that, as like produces like, we should 
have but one kind of cell formation in the whole organism. 
For it can only be through the instrumentality of this 
power that a cell can be constructed ; and, since we find 
a variety of cell formations in the human structure, it 
follows that there must be an equal variety of different 
degrees of this power being employed to build them. 
The vibrations evidently differ in degree and tension, 
some being quick, others slow ; some coarse, others fine. 
Tracing the different nerves to the brain, we realize that, 
as its various parts are utilized for different, distinct pur- 
poses, one of them must be for the generation of its own 
particular degree and tension of nerve vibrations which, 
after being transmitted or attracted to the entire system, 
are productive of all normal as tvell as abnormal forms 
of cellular structure found therein. Now, while the 
brain constitutes the positive pole, and the general system 
the negative, in the production of vibrations, as we shall 
see further on, in a like manner a circuit must be estab- 
lished between an organ of sense and the thing sensitized. 



BRAIN VIBRATIONS. 33 

Thus, when light vibrations, representing, say, one hun- 
dred for a standard, strike upon the retina, and from there 
are transmitted to the brain, it at once responds with 
vibrations which equal that number, and sight is the re- 
sult. If, however, they are few, on account of the light 
being dim or the eye diseased, those responding from the 
brain correspond ; then, it may be next to impossible for 
the person to see. When an electric light of great brill- 
iancy or the full glare of the sun strikes upon the retina, 
the brain at once responds with such a flood of nerve 
vibrations as would, if long continued, exhaust it, and re- 
sult either in injuring it, or causing a total loss of sight. 
When the light vibrations represent one hundred, and those 
reflexed from the brain only fifty, then sight is impaired, 
on account of the imperfect transmission of the light 
vibrations, no more being returned from the brain than 
were carried there. The same may be said of hearing, 
the only difference being that the brain, from which the 
auditory nerve takes its rise, must respond with vibra- 
tions equal to the vibrations of sound. Even taste and 
smell may be accounted for in the same way, the thing 
tasted or smelled, according to its strength or weakness, 
giving forth its vibrations, the brain at once responding 
to them in a like degree and number. Indeed, the whole 
human organism is so beautifully adjusted with regard 
to its self-preservation that the brain will receive the 
necessary vibrations from the senses taking cognizance of 
danger, such as by sight, hearing, smelling and touching, 
and thus forming a circuit as though the thing seen or 
heard had come in actual contact. As this applies to the 
whole economy of the human system, it is obvious that it 
is likewise applicable to any part of it, such, for instance, 
as a cell formation. It not only partakes of this power 
of the entire body to defend itself against disease and 
microbes, but it is the only one that can be effectually 
used against them, and a positive restoration of the 
diseased cell effected. When a person is surrounded by 
pleasing conditions that are harmonious to him, the brain 
receives through the senses impressions that cause it to 
generate vibrations of a like character. 



34 VITAL FORCE. 

If the opposite conditions are present — such as the 
sight of a thing that is disgusting or sickening, the 
presence of an objectionable person, exhausting exercise, 
great anger, constant irritability, or any of the great 
variety of annoyances that environ some patients — then 
the brain will simply generate vibrations of a like char- 
acter, which upon being reflexed upon the body are sure 
to increase any diseased condition of an unhealthy organ. 
In like manner, when a person becomes frightened, the 
brain, as a result, ceases to generate the usual harmonious 
vibrations but instead an abnormally large number of 
them, when violent palpitation of the heart occurs, or 
there may be so few that the heart either seemingly stops 
beating or actually does ; then, in the one case, we have 
great paleness of the face, weakness, cold sweat and 
unconsciousness, or what we term a faint ; or, in the latter, 
death itself, the brain virtually suspending its vibrations 
to the heart. The stomach is also affected in the same 
manner, even producing deathly sickness and vomiting. 
Thus, when a person is angered, the vibrations gen- 
erated by the brain are attracted to the liver, causing, 
as is the case, frequently jaundice. Even when sudden 
news is communicated to some persons, the brain being 
startled, vibrations are attracted to the bowels, and diar- 
rhoea is brought on. 

CHARACTER OF MOTIVE FORCE AS JUDGED 
BY THE MECHANISM OF THE MACHINE 
THAT GENERATES IT. 

"When we inspect a machine that is used for generating 
power, such as water, steam or heat, we recognize at once 
something in its make-up that suggests the character of 
the force that it develops. Thus, when we see a battery 
with wires leading from it, the whole outfit suggests the 
power to be either magnetic or electric. Is it not possible, 
then, to find in the construction of the human organism 
which is, as we have already seen, a machine, something 
suggestive of the true nature of the force that operates 
it ? Let us see : We find, on examination, that, if the 



THE CIRCULATION OF VITAL FORCE. 35 

nerve that supplies any organ or part of the system be 
severed, it ceases at once to be supplied with the power 
necessary to keep it in operation. This proves to us 
that the motive force is transmitted over that nerve ; and, 
as we follow it up, we find it terminates in the brain. 
This, we find, is equally true of all other parts of the 
system, proving that the whole power of the entire body 
is generated there also. "We next examine that organ, 
and find that it is divided into two hemispheres, decidedly 
suggestive of the negative and positive poles in an elec- 
tric or magnetic battery. We further ascertain that it is 
made up of cells similar to a storage battery, and that, 
even as an electric dynamo transmits electricity over 
wires to supply its entire circuit, so the brain sends out, 
to every organic cell in the whole organism, myriads of 
fine wire-like nerves through which it flashes the motive 
power that operates them. Moreover, that, as the electric 
and magnetic batteries have their positive and negative 
electrodes, so the system has its sensitive and motor 
nerves which form a circuit exactly as in an electric or a 
magnetic battery. Now, if we are to judge the nature of 
the force that operates the human organism by the 
apparatus that we find within it, we would say at once 
that the nature of that force must be either magnetic 
or electric in its character. 



THE CIRCULATION OF VITAL FOECE. 

We are well aware that the earth is controlled by cer- 
tain fixed laws peculiar to it as a planet, while, in subdi- 
vision, we know its atoms are likewise governed in a 
similar manner. Now, under all conditions these atomic 
elements retain their definite characteristics, and are sub- 
ject to the same laws when they become integral parts of 
a living organism, as well as when the constituent par- 
ticles of some inorganic crystal or chemical compound. 
The mere coming in contact with the life principle in no 
manner changes the character of material matter, or the 
laws that govern it. The physical forces within a living 
body are those which are transmitted to it through the 



36 VITAL FOKCE. 

material elements which constitute its organic structure, 
such as oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, the inorganic 
elements, and all their compounds as well as sunlight, 
all of which are being continually supplied to the system. 
The affinity their atomic elements have for each other 
is productive of heat and force, and, as they and 
their compounds emit vibrations peculiar to their polarity 
under all conditions, it is evident that they throw them 
off within a living organism, as well as when external to 
it, and there accumulate in the organic cellular tissues of 
the whole body, just as electricity does in a storage bat- 
tery. The manner in which the physical forces unite 
with the life principle, or ego, is evidently in some such 
way as the following. The latter, call it by what name 
you may, is the great positive element, while all the phys- 
ical forces of the economy are negative ; that is, to that 
principle. 

In order, then, for it to be able to manifest itself, 
it must have the negative or material forces to draw 
upon. Not that the latter constitute intelligence by 
any means, yet there could be no expression of it with- 
out them in the same manner that there could be no 
reflection in a mirror without there was something to 
reflect, as well as the mirror itself, both being necessary. 
Now, by comparison, we find that the circulation of this 
force corresponds exactly to the circulation of the blood, 
the arterial being positive, as it passes from the left side 
of the heart, and, after imparting its positive principle to 
the tissues of the body, it returns to the right side of the 
heart and lungs in a negative condition, laden with car- 
bonic acid. In like manner, the gastric glands in the 
walls of the stomach charge the fluid that passes 
through them with this positive principle, after which the 
latter imparts it to the food, and returns in a negative 
state to the walls of the stomach. The same with the 
intestinal and pancreatic juices. It is evident that the 
secretions of the body receive their positive character 
from some source, which keeps up a constant supply. An 
incessant demand also implies an expenditure of power, 
which, in turn, means a continual generation of it. We 



THE ORIGIN OF PHYSICAL FORCE. 37 

know, moreover, that though the secretions of the body 
impart their positive principle during their circulation, 
they practically lose little or nothing in volume, and 
return to their respective organs to be ^recharged with it. 
What is true of them, then, must also be true of the 
source from which they receive their supply. 

Thus, we find the life principle acts upon the 
positive poles of the cellular brain matter, and, as it 
passes to the negative poles, it draws upon the physical 
forces which have accumulated there. It is then trans- 
mitted over the nerves to the whole organic structure of 
the body, drawing upon and expending the latter stored- 
up forces as it proceeds for operating it in all its in- 
ternal functions. It next returns in a negative state to 
the brain, laden with the physical forces that it has taken 
up from the cellular structure of the whole body, each 
organ, whether strong or weak, healthy or diseased, con- 
tributing its share. There it again unites with the life 
principle, and is recharged with its positive powers. 
Thus, a circulation of vital force passes from the brain 
in a positive state to the organism, and from there back 
to it again in a negative state, and constitutes what we 
term the circulation of vital force. 

THE ORIGIN OF PHYSICAL FORCE. 

As we backward trace the power that turns the 
spindle, we come to the steam engine, and say it generates 
it. In like manner, as we trace to its source the power 
that runs the human organism, we come to the brain, and 
ascertain for a certainty that it is generated there. But, 
on pushing our examinations still further, we find that 
both the engine and the brain are machines, and that 
in neither case is the power inherently generated in them, 
but is traced directly to a force that merely manifests 
through them. Thus, we find that, though steam is the 
direct motive power that runs the engine, heat as a 
product of combustion is the force that produces it, while 
combustion simply means a rapid, energetic affinity of 
oxygen and carbon for each other — not annihilation of 



38 VITAL FORCE. 

either the one or the other of these two elements, for no 
such thing can take place in the domain of nature. Com- 
bustion is but the simple uniting or coalescing of those 
two elements. In this case we have oxygen positive, and 
carbon negative ; and, as the product of their affinity, we 
have heat positive, and carbonic acid negative. It is 
noticeable in both instances that, in the production of heat 
in the steam engine and the human economy, that car- 
bonic acid is repelled or thrown off. 

Since there can be no coalescing or affinity of elements 
for each other without their molecules being endowed 
with polarity, it is evident that, since in the realms 
of nature there is no such a thing as a creative power, 
that they likewise in no manner possess it, but are simply 
utilized for the transmission of a force that is beyond 
them. Thus, the origin of the power that is productive 
of physical force, whether it be within the human organ- 
ism, or without, can be traced back to what might be 
justly termed the cosmic ether of the universe, all 
scientists agreeing that such ether does exist. 

DUALITY OF PAKTS, FUNCTIONS AND FORCES. 

The human body is made up of a duality of parts. 
That is, it is practically two organisms merged into one. 
When apparently only a single one is found, such as the 
mouth, the medial line in its roof will show that in real- 
ity it is really made up of two. In other apparent excep- 
tions the parts were undoubtedly united in the foetus 
before its full development. A little thought on the 
part of the reader will enable him to enumerate all the 
organs of the body in pairs, thus making it unnecessary 
for us to do so. We might mention, however, that man 
has likewise two brains — the cerebrum and cerebellum — 
each divided into two hemispheres, they in turn being 
made up of white and gray matter, while all the nerves 
that supply the organs of sense are also in pairs. The 
body has, moreover, two coverings — the external, or skin, 
and the internaVor mucous membrane. In the muscles 
we find the longitudinal and circular, as well as the vol- 



DUALITY OF PAETS, FUNCTIONS AND FORCES. 39 

untary and involuntary. The body is also divided into 
systems, such as the nervous, circulatory and respiratory, 
as well as others not necessary to mention ; all made up 
of organs that have two distinctly separate functions. 

Thus, the sensory nerves receive sensations, and in 
return the motor nerves transmit a motive force, while the 
lungs, two in number, inhale the air, made of two distinct 
gases — oxygen, which is positive, and nitrogen, negative 
— with the further double function of oxidizing the blood 
on the one hand, which is a positive act, and exhaling 
carbonic acid, which is a negative one, on the other. So 
we find the heart a double organ in all its parts and 
functions, having when in action a positive contraction 
and negative relaxation. It is also supplied with two 
sets of blood vessels — arteries and veins — while the blood 
itself, being made up in part of the red and white blood 
corpuscles, has a double function — of carrying oxygen to the 
tissues of the body, and bringing back carbonic acid. 
Also, in the larynx we have the vocal cords, in pairs — one 
positive, and the other negative ; productive in function of 
two distinctly separate tones — the high and the low — in 
all possible variations. And while the whole organism is 
a compound magnet, in like manner we find every organ 
is one also, each cell in turn being a magnet having 
polarity, or the function of attracting and repelling. This 
power, however, is only possible through the polarity of 
each atom therein, which enables the cell to attract and 
repel like atoms. We likewise have the whole body 
operated by two distinctly separate forces, which unite 
and form what we term vital force, having the double 
function of materializing or building up all parts of the 
organism on the one hand, and vitalizing it on the other. 
We make special mention of this matter, as it is evident 
that any such a perfect duplication of bodies, organs, 
cells, atoms, functions and forces is no accident, but 
design, indicating polarity, which latter infers that vital 
force itself must be either magnetic or electric in its 
nature. 



40 VITAL FORCE. 



WHAT IS VITAL FOKCE? 

Though there can be no life without heat, it is per se 
no element of vital force. When a machine is in opera- 
tion, friction of its various parts generates heat ; yet it is 
not the heat so generated that is the motive power that 
runs it. Heat is simply the^ product of combustion, 
occuring in identically the same manner within the 
human system as without. The organism receives through 
the lungs but a definite amount of oxygen at a time, 
during which period it unites with a corresponding 
equivalent of carbon, and thus, in health, the normal 
temperature is constantly maintained. It is not, however, 
in the true sense of the word, a force that requires being 
transmitted over nerves. On the contrary, it merely 
permeates every part of the system, nerves, nerveless 
parts, secretions and excretions, alike; the body like 
any other material, radiating it when overheated, and 
absorbing it when cold. Vital force is, on the contrary, 
the direct motive power that operates the human organ- 
ism. It is a combination of two distinct, separate forces, 
having, when united, the relations of positive and nega- 
tive to each other — namely, the positive, or life principle 
force, which we shall show, though relating entirely to 
intelligence, is per se a power ; hence, a force ; while the 
negative, or physical one, is made up of an aggregate of 
all the forces that are peculiar to the atoms of the 
various materials that enter into the construction of the 
organism, and which are found in universal nature. And, 
since no atom, or molecule of matter, cell, or organ, can 
of itself or themselves express intelligence, for what is 
often called such, is simply an impulse, motion or force 
acting through them, it is evident that a positive whole, 
like an intelligent human being, cannot be made up of an 
aggregate of negative parts. 

What is true of matter in its molecular form is also 
true of the forces that they transmit, which, we know, 
never deviate from the pathway of polarity and have noth- 
ing independent in their nature. Not having in any degree 



WHAT IS VITAL FORCE ? 41 

the attributes of an intelligent entity individually, they 
cannot collectively endow the human organism with intel- 
lect. Brainless things cannot beget brains. Passionless 
atoms and laws cannot give birth to passion. Unerring 
molecules and forces cannot become the parents of whims, 
moods and erring judgment, such as we see in independ- 
ent intelligence ; hence, it is a thing distinctly different 
from material matter and its forces. Moreover, when the 
life principle has departed from an organism, there has 
been no annihilation or departure of even one atom of 
matter or single vibration of the natural forces that control 
them. There can be no such a thing as a dead molecule 
or defunct law of nature. For, in a strictly material sense, 
all that was, is, and always will be, which applies with 
equal force to intelligence as it does to the individual 
atom. 

So, when life departs from an organism, it has 
taken, in a physical sense, nothing with it, and, yet in- 
telligence having disappeared, it is minus that positive 
principle, the highest expression of which is individual 
intelligence. Dust cannot blow of its own volition. The 
wind, however, being a force, can blow it ; and, as we rec- 
ognize the wind to be a thing distinctly different from the 
dust it blows, so we recognize intelligence, which can be 
made to guide and dominate the wind, a force as distinctly 
different from that force as it is from the dust. Thus, we 
find intelligence to be a power unlike any material 
force, for it guides, controls and dominates, as the whims 
and moods of its will dictate. It differs from the physi- 
cal force, inasmuch as it acts both voluntarily and involun- 
tarily ; the latter involuntarily only. We call it the M life- 
principle force," otherwise termed " soul/' or " spirit. ' We 
use the former term in a relative manner, as we wish to 
simply point it out as the great positive principle of vital 
force, the opposite of the physical. The origin of the 
latter is evident, since all the laws that constitute a part 
of it are peculiar to material nature. This is the force 
that is stored up in the cells of the entire organism — air 
cells of the lungs as well as fibrous cells of the muscle — 
just as electricity is confined in a storage battery. This 



42 



VITAL FORCE. 



accounts for the reason that muscular development 
brings physical strength, and a lack of it, weakness, 
which is just as applicable to a lung as to a muscular 
tissue. And as the force that operates a machine can be 
misused or wasted on account of the operator's ignorance 
or maliciousness, he himself being no part of the former 
or the motive force that operates it, so the physical 
or negative force may be either wittingly or unwittingly 
squandered by the positive ego. And as the operator 
may manipulate his machine in such a manner as to de- 
stroy its usefulness, so the life principle, through the in- 
strumentality of the will, may, ignorantly or maliciously, 
either greatly impair the body's usefulness or actually 
bring about that change we term " death." 

EQUILIBRIUM OF LIFE FORCES. 

A machine cannot be made out of thought. Material 
matter plus physical force plus intelligence are necessary 
for its construction. Any two of them are impotent to 
accomplish the work, while all three, when properly com- 
bined, have almost boundless capabilities in constructing 
intricate and wonderful inventions ; hence, the power that 
can guide and dominate physical forces in the manipula- 
tion of matter in transforming it into a machine is a force 
as distinctly necessary as either matter or the physical 
force. Indeed, while no independent act of intelligence 
could be executed without the life principle, neither could 
it give expression to thought, function of organ or act of 
person only through the media of physical energy. Not 
that thought and intelligence do not exist beyond the con- 
fines of material laws, but there can be no expression 
of either in realms controlled by them only through their 
instrumentality. That is, the life principle can only 
manifest itself in the way of intelligence on a material 
plane, and make itself understood only to the degree that 
it is enabled to draw upon and utilize physical forces with 
which to do it. This accounts for the reason that strength 
of body as well as mind is necessary to do protracted 
mental labor. It also makes plain the fact that, no 



EQUILIBRIUM OF LIFE FORCES. 43 

matter how fine an intellect a person may have, when very 
sick, being as a result weak, he can do little or no mental 
work. Or, if he makes an effort, he becomes exhausted 
just exactly as a storage battery would be if containing 
but a little electricity, and all were drawn off. In like 
manner a person cannot do good mental work while di- 
gestion is going on. It clearly explains the decline of 
mentality in old age. The same life principle is present ; 
but, as the organism generates less and less physical force, 
there is less and less for it to draw upon ; hence, less abil- 
ity to express intelligence. When a person has in a 
marked degree great mentality, accompanied by a good 
physique, we have what is generally termed a well-bal- 
anced person. Most of the great personages of the world 
— we mean mentally great — were people of that build. 
To be sure, though we have had many brilliant minds 
who had weak bodies, it is a fact that they could not do 
protracted mental labor, and that, to just the degree they 
attempted it, to just that extent were they short-lived; 
many of them even killing themselves by keeping the 
organism depleted of its physical force. In many cases 
we find the life-principle force quite feeble, and the mate- 
rial forces very strong, and as a result have a weak intel- 
lect and great bodily strength, the reason being that the 
former power, being naturally wanting, never exhausts 
the physical forces of the body. The same with the idiot. 
Little intelligence is expressed, so, little of the latter 
forces are used ; hence, as is generally the case, this class 
of persons have good physical strength. Where there is 
a weak intellect and a poor body also, it is owing 
evidently to naturally inherited causes. Either of these 
forces may be made more powerful by exercise ; hence, 
if the whole force is given to intellectual development, 
we have a good intellect and a frail body or vice versa. 
In all forms of diseased structure there is a lack of 
equilibrium of these forces, which accounts for all diseases. 



44 VITAL FORCE. 



MENTAL CUBES. 

A method of cure that teaches facts concerning the 
mind is of great importance to humanity as an auxiliary 
aid in overcoming mental and bodily ailments. When, 
however, it is presented to the world in some " fol-de-rol " 
supernatural guise, and such terms as faith and science 
are locked in each other's embrace, and the offspring 
dubbed " Christian Science," it is no wonder that the 
world calls it a craze. And, since this question in- 
fringes upon the subject we have under consideration, 
and facts are called for concerning it, we propose to 
give a rational explanation of the modus operandi of 
just how all mental cures are brought about, and, thus, 
rid this whole matter of its tangles of fanatical mysticism. 
This question is not one of faith, but fact. That is, the 
person's organism, brain, mind, life-principle force, phy- 
sical force and vital force, are all facts. Further, that it 
is only through the instrumentality of the latter that a 
diseased, or partially diseased, organic tissue, can be 
made whole, is a fact. Indeed, it has never yet been 
recorded that, even by a supernatural power, that a 
person was ever given a limb that he had lost, or restored 
as whole an organ entirely destroyed. In every instance 
the part was merely diseased, and, so, as soon as an 
equilibrium of the life forces was re-established, a cure was 
effected, and nothing more. For there is no such a thing 
as building a cell out of the stuff that faith is made of, 
since an analysis of any healed structure would show that 
it was built out of the organic and inorganic elements 
identical with those of the whole organ, and that its recon- 
struction, if any, was brought about entirely through the in- 
strumentality of the vital force. 

That an organ or any part of it does not in 
many cases receive its normal amount of the latter is 
not to be denied, yet may, through the instrument- 
ality of the will, be made to receive a still further 
increase of it, are admitted facts. Also, without the 
intelligence was of such a grade as to enable it to grasp 



MENTAL CURES. 45 

an idea that would dominate it and serve as the 
necessary stimulus to the life-principle force, there could 
be no cure, is still another fact, proof of which is that 
animals, infants and idiots, or even very stupid persons, 
are never cured by and through the instrumentality of 
their own faith. All reported cures show the patient to 
be a decidedly sensitive person, capable of deep emotion 
and intensity of feeling. This accounts for their ability 
to grasp the above-mentioned necessary idea. The will 
being the guiding power of the mind, it matters not what 
the idea is called, whether " faith " or " knowledge/' if it 
only holds it to its purpose. The power of either faith or 
knowledge is will. Thus, a great faith and a weak will 
combined are impossibilities, for faith is simply deter- 
mination personified. 

So, even a knowledge of what is right, with a 
will too feeble to carry out its requirements, makes 
the merit of it of little consequence as a means of 
cure. If a person had been leading what we call a bad 
life, and the expenditure of his life forces were through 
faculties that kept his passions in a flame and his mind 
engrossed with bitter thoughts of vengeance, animosities 
and unkindness, and his life given to every form of 
carousal and dissipation, thereby incurring loss of health 
and severe sickness, and at last, through the stimulus of 
faith in a power supreme to heal him, he is led to change 
the whole course of his life, and is cured, the question is 
raised, What healed him 1 Has his faith ? By no means. 
If he had simply changed his way of living, would he 
not have been cured just the same ? Again, if by knowl- 
edge of the fact that his mode of life and dissipa- 
tions were destroying him, and he changed the manner 
of his living, would the results not have been identical ? 
We certainly know that a change of life on his part, 
whether induced by faith or knowledge, would cause the 
following important changes to take place as regards the 
expenditure of vital force. When leading a dissipated 
life, the latter is expended to a great extent in the mere 
gratification of his desires and passions. And to just the 
extent that they monopolize it, to that degree the organic 



46 VITAL FORCE. 

cellular tissue of his body is robbed of its just share of it, 
and as a result it grows negative and in time diseased, 
his higher faculties in the meantime remaining in a dor- 
mant state. 

Now, if from either faith or knowiedge all dissipations 
were stopped, and, as a result, all squandering of his vi- 
tality ceased, it would then be conserved for the needs of 
the system to build up in one direction and heal in an- 
other. The baser or animal faculties then becoming 
dormant, and the vital force being attracted to the 
higher faculties, they become stimulated. As a conse- 
quence, the brain vibrations are soothing, and so har- 
mony of mind and body — between the life-principle force 
and the physical force — prevails, and the system is in the 
best possible condition to have a cure wrought. Back- 
sliding is brought about not so much from what is 
expressly termed " cussedness " as from weakness. The 
brain being a compound magnet, and each faculty a 
separate magnet; thus, after the animal faculties have 
been stimulated for long years by attracting the vital 
force at the expense of the higher, they become strong 
and powerful, while the latter, by non-use, become weak ; 
and every attempt at reformation makes it practically a 
battle between the big and little magnets of the brain as 
to which shall, in the greater degree, monopolize the 
vital powers of the body. 

Each faculty being made up of an aggregate of 
cell formations, the vital force, in obedience to the 
greater attraction, would be inevitably drawn to the 
most powerful magnetic faculty, and the force would 
never deviate from its flow in that direction. But here 
is where the life principle, as a directing power or force 
personified as the ego, and by the power of its will alone, 
overcomes the affinity, and switches off the current of 
physical force from the naturally strong magnetic faculty 
to the weak one, and holds it there, if sufficiently strong, 
till such time as the latter by use becomes the 
stronger, and the lower ones, by non-use, the weaker, at 
which time it will require no more will power to be good 
and do good than it formerly did to be bad, on account 



MENTAL CURES. 47 

of its being now the natural state. When changes are 
identical, the results must, of necessity, be the same. 
Faith alone, or knowledge alone, or both combined, 
could work no cure without the necessary change of liv- 
ing from an abnormal to a normal life, showing the 
cause to be in the latter, and not in the former. As it is, 
there is no life that faith alone can make a person live 
as far as it pertains to his physical health that is superior 
to the teachings of knowledge, provided the will power in 
both cases is equally strong, for a person may have great 
faith in a supreme power, and yet, if ignorant of the 
laws of health, unintentionally violate them, and thus 
bring about a diseased condition of the organism, all of 
which could have been easily avoided by a knowledge of 
them. If, then, man can only be made to understand 
the laws that govern the vital force that operates 
his organism, and be made to fully realize the naked 
fact that that power per se is as physical in its nature 
as the component material parts of his body, and not a 
spiritual one inexhaustible in quantity, and so to be 
cared for and preserved in just the same degree that the 
physical organism is guarded against injury, then, in- 
deed, will the hand of self-destruction that is now unwit- 
tingly at work in many cases be stayed. 



48 ALIMENTATION. 



ALIMENTATION. 



NUTKITION. 



In the preceding chapters we have referred to the human 
organism as a machine, and, as all machines entail a loss 
of their parts while being operated by a motive power, so 
in a similar manner we find this anatomy of ours subject 
to injury and loss of both organic and inorganic material 
while being acted upon by the vital motive force, either 
from the normal wear of the body or from such an addi- 
tional abnormal condition as disease. We say " normal " 
when the entire system receives through the functions of 
nutrition a sufficient amount of the necessary material 
to keep it built up ; " abnormal," when there is an inabil- 
ity on the part of the general organism as a whole, or 
such parts as the lungs, when diseased, to repair all waste 
caused by the expenditure of the vital force upon it. 

Such being our purpose, it is obvious that indigestible 
foods, as well as those that require a long time to digest, 
all kinds of condiments and artificial drinks, are to be 
absolutely excluded from the stomach. 

Moreover, it is out of the question to compromise and 
mix the proper kinds of nutriment with those above men- 
tioned, since the latter in their elimination from the system 
serve to deplete the digestive organs of their power of 
digestion, and so make it impossible for them to properly 
digest the former. That, however, is not the only thing 
required, for just here we find our efforts confronted by 
a very serious condition — namely, a loss of vital force in 
those identical organs, as well as in the general system ; 
and we find ourselves obliged to restrict our selection 
of food to those kinds that contain not only the nec- 
essary organic and inorganic elements, but to those 
that we know can be digested with the least possible 
expenditure of vital force on the part of the stomach 



NUTRITION. 49 

and small intestines. Finding we have a specific work to 
accomplish, and the weakest kind of digestive apparatus 
to prepare the material that we propose to use, it is evi- 
dent that their vital motive power must be reserved and 
conserved for that definite purpose, and that only, if we 
hope to succeed in our work. 

It should be understood that when an organic disease 
of the lungs is present we always have a maximum amount 
of cellular lung structure to build, with but a minimum 
degree of vital digestive power with which to prepare the 
needed material ; hence, the necessity of reserving it all 
for that work. Indeed, the universal rule in mechanics is 
to construct a thing out of the proper material, and with 
the least possible expenditure of labor. No mechanic 
would think for a moment of exhausting his strength 
while repairing a machine on a material that he knew 
could in no manner whatever be utilized by him in 
its construction. Neither would he, if sane, use his tools 
upon a substance that would injure and make impossible 
their usefulness in the work he had on hand. 

Now, this is just as applicable in the repair of the hu- 
man organism as it is to a machine. The definite work 
is to build up the system, and repair the parts destroyed, 
the digestive organs being simply the tools to prepare 
the material for that purpose ; and to use them on any- 
thing that cannot be utilized for the work above men- 
tioned would be to merely weaken, abuse and blunt their 
usefulness when used for their legitimate purpose. 
Hence, we hold that, when the repairing of destroyed lung 
tissue is the object in view, that the lungs are deserving 
of at least the same consideration as any other machine 
undergoing repairs. How absurd to hope and pray for 
the restoration of the lungs to their normal state, and, at 
the same time, treat the stomach as though it was a hop- 
per into which could be poured with impunity any and 
everything for which perverted tastes and desires had a 
longing ! Could an imbecile do less than attempt to con- 
struct living tissue out of alcohol, coffee, cod-liver oil, 
condiments and a great variety of trashy kind of food and 
artificial decoctions called drinks ? And, yet, instead of 



50 ALIMENTATION. 

reserving the digestive organs for that exclusive use, they 
are burdened and weakened by being obliged to digest 
materials they can make no use of for the above-named 
purpose. Since, then, the repair of the diseased organic 
lung structure depends to such a great degree on proper 
digestion, it is obvious that that subject deserves in all its 
phases our most serious consideration. 

INDIGESTION. 

Pulmonary phthisis is, we might truly say, universally 
accompanied by a very serious and distressing complaint, 
known as dyspepsia or indigestion, and, notwithstanding 
untold volumes have been written on that subject, it is 
undoubtedly to-day by far the most prevalent of all 
known diseases. When such a trouble affects the 
stomach, the source to which every atom of the whole 
physical organism looks for nourishment on which to sub- 
sist, it is not surprising to find the latter badly disturbed 
and a progressive loss of weight the result. And, indeed, 
so intimately associated is this disease with pulmonary 
phthisis, that we find it out of the question to think for 
a moment of being able to permanently cure the one 
without effectually eradicating the other. As it is, 
the former seldom ever proves fatal till the system 
has first been greatly reduced, a condition always to be 
regarded as a very serious matter; while, on the contrary, 
a marked gain in weight is an unmistakable indication 
that the lungs are healing, and health is being restored. 
It is evident, then, that when the loss of weight, caused 
by indigestion, be added to the great waste occasioned 
by pulmonary phthisis, that we have, indeed, a complica- 
tion that claims our most serious attention, as such a 
double loss is sure to hasten with great rapidity the 
diseased condition of the lungs. So serious an aspect 
has this disease as a complication of pulmonary phthisis, 
that we doubt that a radical cure of the latter was ever 
accomplished without first removing the former. 

The causes of this complaint are about as numerous 
as any and all the abnormal conditions possible to name. 



MASTICATION. 51 

No two persons will have it precisely the same. Dif- 
ferent abnormal habits lead to different phases of this 
disease. It is apparent at a glance, then, that, in order 
to cure pulmonary phthisis, that any degree of indigestion 
present must be eradicated, and, in order to do that, it 
requires the person so affected to live an ideal life, not 
part of the time, but all the time, till his lung trouble has 
disappeared. But, to thoroughly understand the nature 
of the radical changes necessary to carry oat in order 
to make this possible, we should first become acquainted 
with a few very important facts concerning digestion. 

MASTICATION. 

Nature supplies all persons with not only a mouth for 
the reception of food, but with the necessary set of teeth 
to enable them to masticate it. And even as such ani- 
mals as the cow are amply provided with molars, jaws 
and powerful muscles with which to work them, and thus 
chew her cud, so, in like manner, is every human being 
furnished with identically the same mechanism for the 
proper mastication of his food, a proof that it is as neces- 
sary in the one case as in the other. And, notwithstanding 
man was always provided with sufficient strength, when 
in his normal state, with which to macerate food artifi- 
cially, and the ability to obtain water with which to mix 
it, still nature repudiates any and all such abnormal 
methods, and insists on the food being masticated by the 
teeth before it is allowed to pass into the stomach. Then, 
all soft foods, such as rice, oatmeal and boiled potatoes, 
should be chewed at least thirty times ; while such arti- 
cles as corn, rye, wheat, or ordinary bread, at least sixty 
times ; all meats, such as beefsteak, roast beef, lamb and 
chicken, seventy-five times ; lettuce, apples, and all raw 
hard fruits, seventy times, and soft ones, like very ripe 
pears and peaches, forty times. Chew all food that you 
put into your mouth till it assumes an almost liquid form. 
Even milk should be drank only in such quantities as a 
tablespoonful at a time, and after being taken into the 
mouth should be swashed around in it with a sucking 



52 ALIMENTATION. 

motion for at least twenty times before it is swal- 
lowed. Then it will not create any disturbance. Ob- 
serve these rules scrupulously, and, other things being 
equal, indigestion can be cured. 

THE SALIVA. 

While being masticated, the food is thoroughly mixed 
with a liquid that runs into the mouth from four different 
sources ; hence, the saliva is a mixture of that number of 
distinct fluids, each differing from the other in character — 
namely, the parotid, sublingual, submaxillary glands and 
the follicles of the mouth — and is, when mixed together, 
known as the saliva. It has been estimated that about 
three pounds of it are secreted in twenty-four hours. 
As to its functions, such a prominent physiologist as 
Dalton claims that it is purely mechanical, and that its 
mixture with the food is no part of digestion, but is 
simply designed to lubricate it, and thus acts as an aid in 
facilitating its passage to the stomach, by preventing 
the mucous membrane, which lines the entire passage- 
way to it, from being irritated by friction. But, while 
it serves that purpose, it does it no more than any of the 
digestive fluids, for they, in identically the same manner, 
serve to protect the mucous membrane of the stomach and 
bowels from friction, which, by the way, is but a mere 
incidental function as far as digestion is concerned. The 
experiment of drawing off the saliva when a horse was 
eating oats, and finding that it took him a much longer 
time to masticate them, was one of negative value 
for, if the gastric juice had been in a like manner drawn 
off after food had been introduced into the stomach, it 
would leave the food there in a comparatively dry state 
also, which would, however, be no proof that that fluid 
did not have other digestive and lubricating properties. 

As proof that we are correct in this matter, we 
do not for one moment suppose that any physiologist 
would be willing to admit that a proper mastication of 
food and its mixture with saliva could be dispensed with, 
and its maceration and through saturation with water serve 



THE STOMACH. 53 

as a perfect normal substitute, since any such an admis- 
sion would imply that, if one part of the whole natural 
process of digestion could be substituted for an artificial 
one, then any or all of the other parts could. If food 
saturated with saliva is a necessity for good digestion, 
then the question arises, in just what way? It cannot 
be for mere lubricating purposes, since water, being 
always at hand, could be just as effectually used. 

This is not its solution by any means, for experience 
teaches us that indigestion is sure to follow, sooner or 
later, any attempt at the substitution of liquid foods for 
solids, no matter how nourishing they otherwise may be. 
The food should be masticated on both sides of the 
mouth, in order that the salivary glands on each side 
shall be stimulated and made to flow to their maximum 
capacity, while if chewed on one side only they will not. 

There are about three pounds of saliva secreted every 
twenty-four hours. It has also been ascertained that 
saliva will convert starch into sugar; so, in all cases 
where there is severe intestinal indigestion, and a prob- 
able lack of intestinal juice for the proper digestion of all 
kinds of starchy food, then a most thorough mastication 
of starchy foods is all the more necessary. If the mouth 
was made for the mere reception of food, to be swallowed 
and not chewed, then teeth, and more especially molars, 
would be useless. In all cases in animal life among the 
carnivora molars are wanting, not being a necessity; but 
being furnished by nature as we find them in the human 
mouth indicates that they have a definite work to do, that 
is not to be overlooked if any one would have good diges- 
tion. Understand, then, that by the proper mastication 
of food digestion is greatly facilitated, and a normal 
action of the stomach the result, while if it is merely 
bolted it leads, as such an act is sure to do, to several 
other abnormal conditions. 

THE STOMACH. 

After the food has been masticated by the act of 
deglutition (swallowing), it passes down through the 



54 ALIMENTATION. 

passage, or tube (the oesophagus), into the stomach. 
This important organ is much like a membranous bag, 
with the oesophagus opening into it from its extreme 
upper part, while the opening into the small intestines, 
called the " pylorus," is situated well to its left lower 
portion. This organ is made up of thin membranous 
layers, the external one being exceedingly small, emitting 
a moisture from its surface for lubricating purposes, thus 
preventing irritation by friction as it moves in contact 
with the other organs about it. 

The middle coat consists of muscular fibres, one of 
which runs lengthwise and the other crosswise, or around 
the stomach. This enables it to contract and distend 
according to the contents within it. In like manner 
the churning, or peristaltic, motion of the stomach is 
carried on. The third layer lines the inside of the entire 
organ, and is known as the " gastric mucous membrane. " 
It is very smooth and soft and of a light pinkish color. 
When the stomach is contracted, it is found to be in 
folds or wrinkles. All through the deep substance of 
this membrane is to be found in great abundance the 
glands which secrete the gastric juice. From these 
minute organs arise small tubes which terminate on 
its free surface, called " gastric follicles." They cover its 
whole surface with the exception of those portions oc- 
cupied by the capillary blood vessels and nerve filaments, 
or papillae. The capacity of the stomach is about three 
pints. 

THE GASTEIC JUICE. 

The gastric juice is a clear, colorless, odorless, acid 
liquid. After being taken from the stomach, it may be 
kept for months, if excluded from the air, without be- 
coming fetid. As may be inferred, it is a most powerful 
antiseptic, so much so, that it will prevent the putrefac- 
tion of meat when immersed in it, and sealed up. Lactic 
acid is evidently the acid peculiar to it, and is found in 
the quantity of four hundred and seventy-eight parts. 
There are also about fourteen pounds of gastric juice se- 



FUNCTIONS OF THE STOMACH. 55 

creted in twenty-four hours, and this evidently is not 
an overestimate. It has been ascertained under abnormal 
conditions, such as having a fistula in the stomach, that 
the gastric juice will flow freely for about three hours, 
while after six hours it had subsided to quite an extent, 
and ceased to flow after nine to twelve hours. 

The length of time that it flows, however, depends 
on the kind of food that is undergoing digestion, 
and whether it was properly masticated or not. If the 
latter rule was observed, and the food eaten was some 
nutritious cereal, one hour may be all that is required, 
while five hours is necessary to digest roast pork. It has 
been definitely ascertained that such nitrogenous foods 
as albumen, fibrin and caseine, are alone acted upon by 
the gastric juice, while starch and fats are exclusively 
digested by the intestinal and pancreatic juices. In good 
health, when the needs of the body are great, the quan- 
tity of gastric juice is correspondingly large. In severe 
sickness, though the wants of the system may be just as 
much, still, as the physical force for attracting new ma- 
terial to the cellular structure of the entire body is weak, 
little or no demand is made on the stomach for food, and, 
as a result, it becomes negative, as does also the gastric 
juice and its ingredients, and so little or none of it is 
secreted. Moreover, even in perfect health the gastric 
juice is not secreted continually, but only during such 
time as food is in the stomach when an alkali or an alka- 
line carbonate will neutralize its action. A moderate 
amount of heat is also necessary for its normal flow, 
while either a high or a low temperature of that organ 
will retard its secretion, showing that the drinking of ice 
water or iced tea, as well as all very cold or hot drinks, 
is injurious, and should never be indulged in — at least, by 
the dyspeptic — while food is undergoing digestion. 

FUNCTIONS OF THE STOMACH. 

When the whole stomach is in a positive state, then all 
its functions as well as the gastric juice and its ingredients 
are in a like condition, and as a result we have normal 



56 ALIMENTATION. 

digestion. Whenever, it is in a negative state, then the 
latter and its active principles — such as its lactic acid 
and pepsin — are also in the same condition, and so, 
no matter what quantity of it or them may be secreted, 
vital force being lacking in it, the normal digestion of 
food is an impossibility. The functions of the stomach 
are to not only receive the food, and retain it while 
undergoing digestion, but to discharge it by way of 
the pylorus when that process is finished. Its great 
function, however, and one of special interest to us, 
is that following the charging of the gastric glands with 
vital force ; they in turn, after the food has entered the 
stomach, charge it through the media of the gastric fluid 
with the same force. Thus, we see that the former itself 
is but a vehicle for transferring that power from the 
glands to the food, and that normal digestion without it 
could not take place, even though the gastric juice was 
otherwise normal in quantity and ingredients. That the 
latter does, when acting on the food, impart its positive 
principle to it, and, by so doing, becomes negative, and is 
reabsorbed by the stomach, is an established physiological 
fact. The intestinal and pancreatic juices are in a like 
manner charged with vital force, and reabsorbed. As 
for the general assimilation of food after it has been 
converted into chyle, there could be none without its 
atoms were first through the process of digestion charged 
with vital force. That the latter when so imparted is 
negative to the attractive power of the whole cellular 
structure of the body is evident ; otherwise, each indivi- 
dual cell could have no power to select from the general 
circulation the ingredients peculiar to it and necessary 
for its construction. 



THE PHYSIOLOGICAL CAUSES OF INDIGESTION 
OE DYSPEPSIA. 

Good digestion calls for the proper mastication of food, 
for it not only stimulates the secretion of gastric juice 
with the least labor and expenditure of the vital force of 



PHYSIOLOGICAL CAUSES OF INDIGESTION. 57 

the stomach, but it will by the affinity these two juices 
have for each other cause the food to be more thoroughly 
saturated, not only by the gastric juice, but to be more 
efficiently charged with its vital principle. It will then 
require but the normal number of peristaltic, or churning, 
motions to digest it; otherwise, it would necessitate 
many more, and thus, by overwork, deplete the organ 
of its power, and leave it more and more negative, till 
finally a severe form of indigestion would be the result. 
Moreover, bolting the food directly affects the stomach's 
function of secreting gastric juice in the following way. 
Suppose it will take one-tenth of the entire vital force 
generated by the system to operate the stomach for the 
normal digestion of the food required for its nourish- 
ment, and one hundred stands for that amount. Now, if 
we divide that number between the two special functions 
of the stomach — namely, the secretion of gastric juice and 
the peristaltic motion of that organ — we have fifty per 
cent, for each, and, as a consequence/ normal digestion. 
But suppose the food be bolted, and, as a result, the 
stomach is obliged to do the work that the teeth failed to 
do — that is, macerate the food — and can only accomplish 
it by increasing the number of its peristaltic movements 
to the extent of one-fourth, then it will require just that 
degree of increase of vital force to do that work. In this 
way, it draws on the whole number (one hundred) for not 
only the normal amount, i. e., fifty per cent., but the addi- 
tional one-quarter, or twenty-five per cent, more, and we 
have seventy-five per cent, used for the necessary peri- 
staltic motion to bring about a proper maceration of the 
bolted food, thus leaving but twenty-five per cent, for the 
secretion of gastric juice. Thus, when food is bolted, 
the usual quantity of two and one-half pounds per day 
should not be eaten, one and a quarter being all the 
stomach can digest in a normal way ; otherwise, indiges- 
tion is likely to result. For, should the above amount be 
taken, but half of it will be normally digested, while the 
other half, being in an unmasticated condition and acted 
upon by the heat of the system, will begin to ferment, 
and an eructation of gas occur. 



58 ALIMENTATION. 

There are many forms of physiological indigestion, each 
being in character diametrically opposite. Take one case 
where there is little or no gastric juice secreted, the food 
remaining in the stomach for the greater part of twenty- 
four hours, only to be vomited just as sweet and unchanged 
as when eaten. Here we have a condition of that organ 
so negative for the time being that its functions are 
mostly if not entirely suspended. Its whole condition 
being negative, the food simply lay there till a negative 
contraction took place, which is always in the direction 
of the oesophagus, and the contents are ejected, the two 
negatives repelling each other. Again, and which is 
generally the case, neither the stomach nor its functions 
are wholly negative, but merely so in a degree. So we 
usually find that part of the food has been acted upon by 
the gastric juice, while the other part had not been 
touched, indicating that an insufficient quantity of the 
latter, charged with the required vital force, had been 
secreted. As a result, we find particles of food in the 
stool, such as curds of milk or other articles of food, 
either in a wholly or partially undigested ** condition, 
showing that when the normal or positive peristaltic 
movements were strong enough to carry off the digested 
parts they took the undigested portion also, and hence 
their appearance in the faeces. Still, when we consider 
digestion as being productive of nourishment only, we 
can see at once that only that part of the food that is 
properly digested is to be regarded as nutriment, the 
rest being a foreign substance which not only proves 
detrimental to the system, but will cause a decided waste 
of vital force to dislodge it from the bowels. It is fre- 
quently found to be the case that a person suffering from 
indigestion has a great appetite, but little or no power to 
digest the food he eats. This shows the absurdity of 
satisfying the appetite, or being guided by it, especially 
when this disease is present. Eat, then, just what the 
stomach can digest and the system utilize as nourish- 
ment for the repair of organic tissue, and no more, for all 
over and above that amount will prove injurious rather 
than beneficial. Thus, we find that nature, in this mat- 



PHYSIOLOGICAL CAUSES OF INDIGESTION. 59 

ter as well as in all others, deals in exact equivalents. A 
definite amount of properly masticated food charged with 
the vital principle of the saliva calls for a certain specific 
quantity of gastric juice, and, thus, digestion on the part 
of all the functions of the stomach is normal ; but, when 
a larger amount is taken than there is gastric juice to 
digest, a certain part of its chymification will be normal and 
the other part abnormal. Who has not frequently heard 
some people remark that they always rise from the table 
a little hungry ? "We have simply to say that this is a 
most excellent rule for those patients to follow who have 
good appetites, but always suffer after satisfying it, as 
well as for those who have undigested food in their 
stools. 

Still another form of dyspepsia, and a very distress- 
ing one it is, is where the gastric juice has been secreted 
even in large quantities, but the gastric glands being 
negative, lack the power to reabsorb it, and so it 
accumulates in the stomach in large quantities, causing 
distention, distress and vomiting. Such a state, it will 
be observed, is just the opposite to that where no gastric 
juice is secreted. We have been called to a patient whose 
condition represented this phase of indigestion in its most 
aggravated form. The history of her case showed that 
for a dozen years she had been suffering with indigestion. 
She would frequently have the food she had eaten re- 
main in her stomach anywhere from five days to a week, 
only to be finally ejected, without having undergone any 
digestion whatever. Indeed, we have seen her vomit all 
of two quarts of an intensely sour, watery fluid, contain- 
ing canned peaches that she had eaten five days previ- 
ously, that had not undergone any change in the way of 
digestion in the slightest degree whatever. In fact, they 
were not even macerated, but had remained in pieces that 
could be still sliced with a knife. There was no sign of 
decomposition, since that was physically impossible con- 
sidering the amount of gastric juice present. The ex- 
planation in this case was that, while the latter was 
secreted even in great abundance on account of the dis- 
tended and relaxed condition of the walls of the stomach, 



60 ALIMENTATION. 

which always favors its flow, it was decidedly, if not 
wholly, negative, coming, as it did, from an organ in a 
very negative state, and so it accumulated there. The 
stomach being negative, and the gastric juice likewise, we 
have again the two negative conditions which repel each 
other, and as a result no reabsorption of the latter. It 
has been demonstrated upon animals and human beings, 
by watching the process of digestion, that between its acts 
the stomach is empty, and that all of its functions are, 
for the time being, suspended. 

The stomach as an organ, when in a normal state, 
is always positive, but not always so in its functions, for 
they are then positive part of the time, and negative the 
rest. It is during this period of inaction that vital force 
accumulates in the gastric glands, while the large amount 
of watery secretion that constitutes the bulk of the gas- 
tric juice does not pass through them till active digestion 
of food has commenced. It is evident from the foregoing 
that, though lactic acid and pepsin may be secreted in 
quantities sufficiently large to digest food, that the reason 
they do not in some forms of dyspepsia is because these 
elements are themselves negative, being the product of 
a very negative organ, and so lack the necessary positive 
principle for normal digestion. This accounts for the 
failure of pepsin to cure, more especially chronic indi- 
gestion. "When a person has no appetite, it is then evi- 
dent that there is not a sufficient amount of vital force 
stored up in the cellular structure and glands of the 
stomach to cause a desire for food ; and under no circum- 
stances whether he be then sick or well should much 
of it, when in that condition, be taken. On the other 
hand, when the gastric glands become well charged with 
this vital positive principle, that organ is ready for 
work, and makes known its want of food to act upon 
to the brain, and we then say we have an appetite or are 
hungry. Understand, then, that digestion merely ex- 
pends this force that has accumulated in the organic 
structure of the stomach during rest, which is obviously 
as much of a necessity as food itself, and more 
so at times when a person is suffering from dyspepsia. 



PHYSIOLOGICAL CAUSES OF INDIGESTION. 61 

There could, in fact, be no digestion without this needed 
rest in some degree. 

From these plainly demonstrated physiological facts, 
therefore, we are bound to draw the conclusion that, in 
order to cure dyspepsia, long intervals of rest must fol- 
low impaired digestion. Then to fill one's stomach at 
eight a. m. with food that requires three or four hours 
for a healthy stomach to digest, and again at twelve and 
six p. m., would leave but a very short time for rest be- 
tween the hours of eight in the morning and nine or ten 
in the evening, or about just ten hours of rest out 
of twenty-four ; that is, from ten p. m. to eight a. m. 
the next day. This is where digestion is practically nor- 
mal, though we hold that at least twelve hours of rest is 
needed. But when we come to the dyspeptic, whose 
organs of digestion are twice or three times weaker than 
the normal, we find that on an average it takes about twice 
as long for them to digest food as it does the latter ; hence, 
should have twice as much rest. For food, then, that 
would require three or four hours for normal digestion, 
would need six to eight, followed by twelve to six- 
teen hours of rest, for twice as much of it would be 
required. Thus, food eaten at seven a. m. would not be 
entirely digested till about one p. m. That, followed by 
a rest of six hours, would mean that no more food should 
be eaten till seven p. m. No matter what dyspeptics 
may think as to the necessity of taking food to keep up 
their strength, it is far more important in these cases to 
give the stomach its needed physiological rest. Never 
mind those cravings or feelings, such as weakness or an 
" all-gone " sensation, as they are usually but symptoms of 
indigestion rather than an indication that your stomach is 
craving nourishment. For, after the dyspeptic's stomach 
has been empty for a short time, it contracts partially, if 
not wholly, and it should, as we have already seen, 
remain in that state for hours before any more food is 
taken. Still, the contraction of its diseased walls causes 
very distressing symptoms. Patients will then say, " I 
feel so distressed and have such a bad feeling, I am obliged 
to eat in order to get relief." Yes, eating will cause 



62 ALIMENTATION. 

dilation of the stomach, but only at the expense of 
the necessary contraction, for the stomach will never 
again resume its normal state or functions till it is 
enabled to not only contract, but remain so for hours at a 
time. This contraction then should be encouraged and 
should not be overcome, no matter how you may be 
distressed by taking food, for the necessary contraction 
means health, and almost permanent dilation means con- 
stant indigestion. By physiological rest, we mean 
an entire cessation of all the functions of the stomach 
that digest the food for a specific length of time neces- 
sary to enable it to entirely recuperate from the effects of 
its labor, as well as remain contracted to its utmost 
limits. 

All of this leads us to the conclusion that, when 
a person is suffering from dyspepsia very badly, that he 
or she should never eat any more than two meals a day — 
say, morning and night — while those suffering from an 
advanced stage of the disease, where the walls of the 
stomach are relaxed most of the time, and all its secre- 
tions and functions are evidently in a very negative state, 
should not eat more than one. Don't say that your 
desires and appetite are the best guides for you to 
follow, for, if you have been a sufferer for years, you 
would have been well ere now if your confidence in them 
had not been misplaced. There is, undoubtedly, a certain 
amount of gratification in satisfying a desire for food at 
certain definite intervals of time, as long years of training 
have cultivated it. Every such lapsing period brings 
on its periodical cravings, but this is no proof that your 
system stands in need of food any more than it would if 
it had in a like manner a craving for tobacco or 
liquor. It is a well-established fact in sanitariums that 
those dyspeptics who eat but two meals a day do better 
than they who eat three, while those who eat but one 
do the best. This whole matter is not based simply on 
theory, for it has been proven, as we have before noted, 
that a complete rest of the stomach for a specific 
length of time following the digestion of food 
is a physiological necessity, while those who have 



THE CIRCULATION OF THE DIGESTIVE FLUIDS. 63 

put the idea in practice have demonstrated its efficacy as 
a cure for indigestion. Weigh yourself, and, to your 
surprise, you will find that, when you eat but one meal a 
day, that you hold your weight fully as well as when you 
eat three (we refer to the chronic dyspeptic). Mental 
causes, such as irritability, anger and all forms of excite- 
ment will react badly upon the stomach, aggravate the 
indigestion already existing there, and so should be 
avoided. 

THE CIRCULATION OF THE DIGESTIVE FLUIDS. 

If we examine the saliva, gastric, intestinal and pan- 
creatic glands, we will find, judging from their size, that 
the amount of fluids secreted by them during normal di- 
gestion could not possibly have accumulated in them 
during the period of rest that preceded it. We know 
that the salivary glands secrete three, the gastric four- 
teen, and the intestinal and pancreatic juices about one 
and one-half, or twenty pounds all told in twenty-four 
hours, of these digestive fluids. As it is physically im- 
possible for those glands to hold any such quantity, it is 
evident that that amount must simply pass through them 
from the general system. Thus, when a man is in full 
health, it is estimated that he eats on an average about 
two and one-half pounds of food a day, for which it re- 
quires twenty pounds of the liquid of the system to sup- 
ply the digestive glands with the necessary vehicle to 
carry their positive elements into the digestive organs. 
And, notwithstanding he drinks during that time three 
pints of water on an average, it will still require seventeen 
pounds or pints in addition, charged with the positive 
elements necessary for the digestion of two and one-half 
pounds of food. Or, if a person weighs, say, one hun- 
dred and sixty pounds, and one-quarter of his entire 
weight, or forty pounds, is inorganic matter, * and 
the remaining three-quarters, or one hundred and 
twenty pounds, is water, it will require one-sixth 
of that whole amount, or twenty pounds daily, to fur- 
nish the necessary amount of liquid for the normal 



64 ALIMENTATION. 

digestion of two and one-half pounds of food or its 
equivalent if used over again, how is it that each 
secretion is distinctly different from the other in its 
characteristic action upon the food when undergoing 
digestion ? All analytical examinations show that these 
fluids are made up of water containing certain organic 
and inorganic materials not specially peculiar to any one 
of them, but common to them all, as well as most every 
part of the entire organism, showing that it was evidently 
drawn from all parts of it. But, as this liquid passes 
through different glands, the latter inject and charge it 
with the substance and force peculiar to each organ that 
had accumulated there while they were at rest, and which 
thus serves to give each digestive fluid its own peculiar 
characteristics. 

-Thus, after the saliva has saturated the food, it passes 
into the stomach and intestines ; and, having imparted 
positive force to the food, it is reabsorbed by the general 
system, which, in turn, furnishes the salivary glands with 
saliva. So, we find the gastric juice entering the 
stomach and imparting its positive principle to the food, and 
then, after being reabsorbed by it, it is again ready for 
another round, recharged with its specific properties. 
In like manner, the intestinal and pancreatic juices, after 
entering the intestines, impart their positive principle to 
the food they act upon, and are then reabsorbed by their 
respective organs, to be recharged by them with their 
peculiar ingredients. This is what we termed the circu- 
lation of the digestive fluid. 

ASSIMILATION. 

When a solid, such as an inorganic substance, is intro- 
duced into the stomach, the gastric juice will begin at 
once to flow, but after a while stop as though the latter 
had made the discovery that it was not food, and so make 
no further attempt to digest it. If, however, such an 
article as meat or fruit be eaten, digestion, if normal, will 
go 6n without interruption until the food has been 
entirely digested and discharged from the stomach. Our 



ASSIMILATION. 65 

explanation of the above facts is as follows: The inor- 
ganic substance at first, by irritation alone, causes a 
slight flow of gastric juice, but as soon as it and the part 
of the gastric mucous membrane in contact with it have 
been sufficiently lubricated its discharge ceases. On the 
other hand, its continuous action upon the meat is un- 
doubtedly owing to the fact that the latter is organic, 
and had not only been saturated with saliva, but had once 
been imbued by the life principle, which latter, now being 
absent, makes it negative to the vital force of the gastric 
juice. And, as one is negative, and the other positive, 
they have an affinity for each other, and as the necessary 
circuit of vital force is established the flow of gastric 
juice is continuous till every particle of the food has been 
acted upon by it, as well as charged with its positive 
principle, after which it becomes as positive as the stom- 
ach itself, and, on the principle that two positives repel, 
those parts of the food so charged pass into the intes- 
tines. 

The necessity of a circulation of vital force being 
established through the media of the digestive fluids 
between the latter and the food they act upon is as 
applicable to intestinal digestion as to that which takes 
place in the stomach ; and, as no force can be given off 
by an electric dynamo only through the media of a cir- 
cuit, in a like manner the whole organic cellular tissue of 
the body could not transmit a power without a circuit of 
vital force was similarly established. Thus, as the whole 
organism looks to the stomach for nutriment, it charges 
it with the necessary force to impart to the food it 
receives for its proper attraction; that is, all atoms of 
food when converted into chyle are perfectly charged by 
the digestive fluids with a force that makes them nega- 
tive to the attractive force of the cellular tissue of the 
whole organism. When the vital force of the body is 
strong, the atoms are well charged, and, so, easily attracted, 
and we have as a result good assimilation. If, on the 
contrary, the entire force is weak, the cellular tissue of 
the body is in a like condition, or a negative state ; as a 
result they are constantly repelling rather than attracting 



66 ALIMENTATION. 

material, and consequently the person grows thin, or, as 
is the case in pulmonary phthisis, wastes away rapidly, 
and we then have malnutrition. 

EULES FOR EATING. 

Be seated when you eat and let your brain as well as 
your body be in as negative a condition as possible. By do- 
ing so all the digestive fluids will act more powerfully and 
digestion be all the better. Don't read while eating, es- 
pecially that half-dried morning paper, and after getting 
your finger tips soiled with printer's ink get it on the 
bread you eat. If you were only aware how powerfully 
and long a small dose of medicine will act, you would 
then fully realize how even minute quantities of such 
poisonous odors continuously inhaled will act to the great 
detriment of your health when, in this or in a similar man- 
ner, it is taken into your system. The same may be said 
of money; if not absolutely poisonous, it is positively 
filthy after it has been in circulation for a while ; then, 
always wash your hands before eating, no matter how 
clean they otherwise may be. Don't eat in a hurry. To 
take plenty of time over insignificant things, and very 
little over such an essential matter as eating your food, 
is anything but a display of wisdom on your part. Bet- 
ter not eat at all for the time being than to eat in a hurry. 
An occasional want of it will do you no harm anyway, 
while eating in a hurry always will. Never eat a meal in 
ten minutes that should require at least thirty minutes' 
chewing. 

A small amount of food properly masticated will 
do you more good than the most delicious viands 
bolted in a hurry. Even when traveling, and obliged to 
get out at a railroad station for dinner or lunch, and you 
have but a few minutes in which to eat, rather than gulp 
down a quantity of victuals during that time, when 
you feel that you must satisfy your hunger, why not 
take it into the cars with you, and eat it there at 
your leisure ? Moreover, don't sleep so late every morn- 
ing that it leaves you no time to properly masticate your 



WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT EAT. 67 

food when you sit down to breakfast. If you think that 
the last half hour's sleep is of more consequence to you 
than the observance of that rule, then you never 
made a greater mistake in your life. Beware ! after indi- 
gestion has once made your acquaintance, for every half 
hour's sleep that you have taken in this way, at the ex- 
pense of a proper chewing of your food, you will event- 
ually have hours of insomnia. You may be stupid, but 
nature never is ; and if you find that she has taken your 
stomach for a bank, and deposits there the spurious coin 
that you have passed on her for genuine, don't be sur- 
prised, for, in all your dealings with her, you will most 
assuredly be paid back in the money of your own issue. 
If you pass the counterfeit, and look in return for the 
genuine, you will soon realize that she has her eye on you 
as a counterfeiter, and, as a consequence, must suffer the 
penalty of any infringement of her laws. Never eat a 
hearty dinner when you are heated or very tired. Bet- 
ter, far, lie down and take a good rest or nap. Don't 
drink when eating. Did you ever see an animal eat a 
little, and then drink a little, and so continue to feed I 
Truly, even fish in the sea know better than that. The 
dyspeptic must observe these rules, as his hope of cure 
can only be realized by so doing. And, as for the patient 
suffering from pulmonary phthisis, he will build his hope 
of a cure on a foundation as flimsy as a soap bubble, if he 
does not. 



WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT EAT. 

If we were to simply advise you to eat what agreed 
with you, no doubt you would unwittingly eat a great 
many things that did not, yet declare that they did, bas- 
ing your assertion not on a close, discriminating scrutiny 
so much as on your cultivated appetite for them. 

Now, if any article of food — no matter how well you 
may like it, or what epicures or your friends may say re- 
garding it — causes nausea, vomiting, burning in the 
stomach, or a distressed, distended feeling, followed or 



68 ALIMENTATION. 

accompanied by eructation, flatulence, headache, sleepi- 
ness or sleeplessness, diarrhoea or constipation, cough or 
hiccough, asthma, or any other marked symptom, such 
as dizziness or palpitation of the heart, then it is not the 
proper thing for you to eat. 

On the contrary, if none of these symptoms appear for 
the space of, at least, two days, then you may safely par- 
take of it, no matter what it may be, provided it contains 
the proper nutriment for the body; otherwise, w T e see no 
earthly reason why you should, for the stomach, you must 
know, is designed for the reception of nothing else. Any 
other use of it is abnormal. If any of the above-named 
symptoms occur, don't, on account of your blind love 
for the food that caused them, conclude with a solemn 
shake of the head that your disease was accountable for 
them, and not your favorite dish. Don't shut your eyes 
to the real cause, and reason that, because you are fond 
of it, that it is impossible for it to disturb you. Again, 
no matter what your previous notions may have been con- 
cerning them, you should never eat by themselves or mixed 
with food any such condiments as pepper, mustard, all- 
spice, cinnamon, peppers, mustard pickles, vinegar, onions, 
or any of the so-called seasoned foods with the single 
exception of salt, which is admissible, being a natural 
constituent of the human organism, or any kind of 
food flavored with essential or volatile oils. No matter 
how nice they may smell, taste or look, you should never 
permit them to enter your stomach. 

We know — for a simple illustration — that haemorrhage 
from the lungs followed the eating of mustard in chicken 
salad, time and again, for years, yet the patient never 
became cognizant of its true cause till it was pointed out. 
The harm was not done by simply over-stimulating the 
circulation, for there was no evidence of its disturbing 
either pulse or temperature, or even aggravating the cough. 
The mustard acted rather as an irritant on the nerve 
papillae of the stomach, which was conveyed to the brain, 
the latter responding with vibrations of a like char- 
acter, and the lungs and their diseased cells, being the 
most negative of any part of the body, received their full 



WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT EAT. 69 

force, and the haemorrhage was the result. Now, as mus- 
tard acts in this way, all other condiments act in a similar 
manner, and, though they may not cause a haemorrhage, 
still they would be the direct cause of abnormal vibra- 
tions being thrown upon the weak part of the lungs, and 
so should not be taken into the stomach. Pepper we 
know to be a stimulant as well as an irritant. Cinnamon 
is in reality a drug, having properties in a therapeutical 
sense equal in many ways to ergot, besides being a 
powerful irritant. Cloves should not even be carried 
about your person. 

You are to eat nutritious foods only, and not cater to 
depraved tastes for any of the above things, since, in 
no sense of the word, can they be considered nutriment. 
As for cooked foods, nothing should be eaten containing 
saleratus or any preparation of soda, cream of tartar, 
baking powder, alum or ammonia. They are all drugs, 
and contain no nourishing properties whatever, and so 
should not be eaten under any circumstances, no matter 
what great or small chemist may declare to the contrary. 
For what may be of no special injury to a well person 
will positively prove detrimental to you, since it not only 
causes a waste of vitality to eliminate the insoluble salt 
that is generally formed in the bread as a result of their 
use, but their peculiar action in causing abnormal vibra- 
tions to be thrown upon the weak or diseased lung tissue 
is sufficient reason for you to be on your guard. 

Above all, don't indulge in that highly lauded onion 
that some epicures advise everyone to eat. Just remem- 
ber that when such persons have a cultivated taste for any 
special article of food, no matter what it may be, whether 
cheese (in the last stages of consumption), corned beef 
and cabbage or pickled artichokes, they always recom- 
mend everybody else to eat it, and imagine that, because 
it agrees with them, that it must naturally be just the 
thing for others. 

No, don't take the advice of an epicure in the matter 
of diet. Onions contain no special nutriment as a 
food, while we know for a certainty that their extract 
is a powerful medicine that is often highly injurious 



70 ALIMENTATION. 

to many patients suffering from indigestion. The reason 
these ill effects are not more frequently noticed is 
because they generally occur often as late as three days 
after they have been eaten, and, so, any bad attack caused 
by them is then invariably attributed to some other 
trumped-up cause, the idea being that the onions are 
infallible, as far as doing harm is concerned. 

We had a patient who had had chronic vertigo, or 
dizziness, for the space of twelve years, causing him 
to fall down several times a week, and, notwithstand- 
ing he was repeatedly examined before college classes 
by learned professors, he got little or no help during 
that period, and yet, after some treatment and the 
exclusion of onions from his diet, he never fell again 
to our knowledge, for nine years, and we have had 
him off and on as a patient ever since for repeated 
attacks of indigestion, proving conclusively, reasoning 
from cause to effect, that onions acted injuriously on 
him. In many other cases we have known them to 
be harmful to the system. Then, on general principles, 
especially when indigestion or pulmonary phthisis is 
present, we most emphatically advise you not to eat 
onions or anything that contains them. Undoubt- 
edly, the most prevalent cause of dyspepsia is sugar. 
This is an " eye-opener" to many persons. " Why," they 
reply, "sugar is fattening." While this is a fact in some 
cases, it is equally true that when a person does not put 
on fat after eating it for the greater part of his life, but 
remains thin, it acts the very opposite on him. When candy 
or granulated sugar causes sickness in a child, we gen- 
erally find the following symptoms present: Vomiting, 
great thirst, coated tongue, very foul breath, pale face, 
loss of appetite, and cold sweat on the face, headache, 
weakness, and an indescribable bad feeling at the pit of 
the stomach. We have attended a family of four children, 
every one of whom had the above-named symptoms after 
freely helping themselves to granulated sugar during 
their mother's absence. 

What physician has not had similar experiences 
in his practice? We have had a patient whose 



WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT EAT. 71 

tongue was one mass of aphthae sores, who had 
previously eaten no less than a pound of candy a 
day. This condition, as a result, had lasted for over a 
year when she applied for treatment. Again, we have 
attended a prominent minister who informed us that 
he always has a severe bronchial attack after eating 
even a half stick of molasses candy. This he had 
verified time and again for years. We have great suc- 
cess in treating children for chronic stomach disturbances 
by prohibiting candy and other sweets for one month. 

During that time they are usually so well, and the con- 
trast is so marked between that month and the previous 
one, that the parents voluntarily continue the prohibition 
of it indefinitely. Just mark the difference between 
children whose indulgent parents give them pennies 
every day, with which they buy candy, and those children 
too poor to indulge in it but once in a while. 

Professional singers know by long study of the sub- 
ject that candy is bad for the larynx, since its action is to 
stimulate mucus, and cause hawking and clearing of the 
throat. The fact that it so often causes marked disturb- 
ances almost at once after eating it shows that its action 
is abnormal. It will make some folks grow fat, yet ex- 
cessive adipose is a disease. But, where it fails to do so, 
it invariably causes indigestion and a loss of weight. 
Sugar is proscribed in diabetes, a disease which frequently 
terminates in pulmonary phthisis. Is it not reasonable, 
then, to say that, if sugar should not be eaten when a 
person is suffering from the one, that it should be 
prohibited in the other? Why is it that, when eaten 
in sufficient quantities, it will affect the appetite, if 
it is not that it checks the flow of gastric juice, and ma- 
terially interferes with the churning, or peristaltic move- 
ment of the stomach I However, there is no nourishment 
in it, even if it will make some persons fat. We eat it 
merely because the taste is agreeable. One writer sug- 
gests that, as those who work in sugar refineries in New 
Orleans are singularly free from pulmonary phthisis, that 
the benefit derived must be from inhaling the cane-juice 
vapor during its refining process. Undoubtedly, it was 



72 ALIMENTATION. 

owing to the fact that those engaged in the work in such 
a warm climate perspired most of the time, and the refin- 
ing fumes had nothing to do with it. Every person, on 
the average, uses about two pounds of sugar a week, or 
about one hundred pounds a year. Is it surprising, then, 
that we are a nation of dyspeptics ? To the very vigorous 
person, then, there may be little or no bad effects, but to 
the dyspeptics, or those suffering from pulmonary 
phthisis, its use is highly injurious. But refrain from 
using any for a month, and see. 

The following articles of food should not be eaten : 
Hot biscuit, butter toast, griddle cakes of any kind what- 
ever, cabbage, corned beef, pork in any fonn, such as 
ham, pork chops, sausages and pig's feet, herring, sar- 
dines, mackerel, salt meats, fresh fish, new-made bread, 
cakes, pastry, confectionery, peas, beans, cheese, new po- 
tatoes. Don't eat meat that has been warmed over. 
Puddings, with the general run of sauces, should be 
avoided. 



WHAT YOU MAY EAT. 

To persons having a pulmonary trouble, the question 
of diet is naturally of paramount interest. There is no 
general rule that we can lay down that will meet the con- 
ditions and needs of all such patients. If they are in 
the incipient, apex or hsemorrhagic stage of pulmonary 
phthisis, and still retain their weight to a great extent, 
and have as yet little or no trouble with indigestion, then 
they may indulge in a very generous diet of such whole- 
some foods as they know agree with them. They should 
be very careful, however, as their condition predisposes 
them to severe attacks of dyspepsia. They may safely 
eat beef, mutton, fowl of any kind, fresh fish, eggs, vege- 
tables, fruits, any of the cereals, unleavened bread, 
gems, crackers, plain pudding made with eggs and milk, 
and all the milk desired may be drank. In the cooking 
of their food, no taint of spices, condiments or baking 
powders should be used with the single exception of salt. 



DIET WHEN MABKED LOSS OF WEIGHT. 73 

This we hold is a very generous bill of fare. Indeed, a 
breakfast made up of nicely broiled rare, tender beef- 
steak, salted and buttered to taste, with a well-baked 
potato, entirely unleavened wheat gems, boiled rice or 
oatmeal and real cream, and no less than two glasses of 
milk, is all-sufficient for any person. While, for dinner, 
soups of any kind, such as beef, mutton or chicken, fol- 
lowed by fish, either boiled or broiled ; roasts, such as 
rare beef, mutton, or lamb ; chicken or fowl of any kind, 
and vegetables ad libitum, with the exception of onions ; 
plain pudding, such as rice, tapioca, indian meal ; bread 
and butter, without currants, raisins or spices ; custard ; 
ripe fruits, and at least two glasses of milk, is variety 
enough for any person. For supper, cold roast beef, 
tongue, lamb or mutton, chicken or turkey, soft-boiled 
eggs — poached, if preferred — unleavened bread, gems, or 
crackers, or any of the cereals, with all the milk de- 
sired, will do. Don't eat ices or drink cold drinks while 
eating. Neither should nuts, raisins olives, lemons nor 
the pulp of oranges be eaten, as they lack the nutritious 
qualities necessary, besides being hard to digest. This 
diet is not starvation by any means, and we see no need 
of patients eating foods containing deleterious elements. 
The food should be plain, and rich in eggs and milk only. 
If any of the above-mentioned ones disagree, then they 
should not be partaken ; for, should severe indigestion 
occur, a rapid loss in weight is sure to follow. 



DIET WHEN A MAKKED LOSS OF WEIGHT 
HAS OCCUKKED. 

When, in any stage of pulmonary phthisis, even ap- 
parently at the very beginning of the attack, there is not 
only a progressive but a very decided loss of weight on 
the usual diet, or the one mentioned in the last chapter, 
and the probabilities are that the loss will continue as 
well in all instances where there is no appetite, then a 
radical change is imperative. Don't waste time on 
tonics. A marked loss of weight is a bad sign, and 



74 ALIMENTATION. 

must be stopped at all hazards ; otherwise, there is no 
possible hope to build on. Don't stop to get more 
advice or make further experiments, for nothing will now 
check the loss but an exclusive milk diet. Milk, and 
milk only, will do more now as a diet in these cases than 
any and all other means under the sun to sustain the 
patient's vital force, as well as prevent any further loss of 
weight. Don't mix it, but make it entirely of milk. 

A word concerning milk : Many people seem to imag- 
ine that there is more nourishment in beefsteak than 
there is in milk. This is not so, for, in the true sense of 
the word, it is beef in solution, since it comes from the 
animal, and therefore contains every organic and inor- 
ganic element in it, as w 7 ell as otherwise containing all the 
ingredients necessary for the construction of every and 
all parts of the entire organism. "We have but to observe 
the strength and weight it will give to a calf or colt to 
fully comprehend what it will do as an exclusive diet. 
And so, when such patients' stomachs become weaker 
than a baby's, it is evident that they must go back to a 
baby's food, for their stomachs then absolutely refuse to 
digest anything else. It is no longer a question with 
them as to what they shall eat, but rather one of inquiry 
as to whether there is anything in the way of nourish- 
ment that they can rely on, let it be what it may, to save 
their lives. Fortunately for them, milk fills all the 
requirements as a food that the exigencies of their condi- 
tion demand. The quantity to be taken should be no 
less than five quarts daily, or about a pint every two 
hours. 

Now, don't say that milk does not agree with you, 
for if you but know it is not the milk that causes 
the disturbance so much as it is the promiscuous mixed 
diet that you have been, we won't say living on, but 
practically dying on, that has got your stomach in such a 
condition that, apparently, neither milk nor anything else 
will agree with it. But when your stomach is no longer 
afflicted with tea and coffee and the tannin they contain, 
physic, baking powder, condiments and spices, to 
your surprise you will find that milk does agree, and that 



WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT DRINK. 75 

you are no longer bilious. You will realize, moreover, 
that the loss in weight has not only been checked, but 
that you have actually begun to gain. Now, as few per- 
sons really know how to drink milk, it would be well to 
here understand a fact concerning its digestion. When 
food is taken into the stomach the gastric juice does not 
flow at once in its maximum quantity for perhaps three 
to five minutes. Bearing that in mind, it would be well 
to take about two mouthfuls of milk first, and then wait 
all of five minutes before you drink any more. If you 
now empty the glass without stopping, the milk on enter- 
ing the stomach will be converted into a large curd, and 
have to remain there like any other food until it is 
digested; but, if the quantity you drink is only equivalent 
to the amount of gastric juice secreted, the latter attacks 
it at once and it becomes partially digested before more 
enters, and thus no curd will form. All of ten minutes 
should be given to the drinking of a glass of milk. Suck 
it through a straw and let it mix as thoroughly with the 
saliva as possible before it is swallowed. The milk 
should always be pure, sweet and as fresh as possible. 



WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT DEINK. 

When a person is troubled with pulmonary disease, 
the stomach should never be required to do any work 
whatever but that of digesting such kinds of food as are 
necessary to nourish the body. It is evident then that 
the drinks containing alcohol, such as whiskies, wines, 
beers, as well as lemonade, bottle soda and all kinds of 
root beer, ginger ale, sarsaparilla, and everything and any- 
thing sold at a soda-water fountain, should not be taken 
into the stomach. Since none of these drinks are nourish- 
ing, and require after being drunk a waste of vital force 
to eliminate them from the system, as well as being 
otherwise detrimental to a person suffering from indiges- 
tion, it is evident that the stomach should not be afflicted 
with their presence. In this matter, as well as in all 
others, you are to cater to conditions that will save your 



76 ALIMENTATION. 

life, and not to perverted tastes. No matter what your 
private opinions may be concerning these decoctions as 
harmless drinks, anything containing ginger, sarsaparilla, 
wintergreen, sassafras, vanilla, essences, oils, acids, and 
essential oils of any kind, will positively prove detri- 
mental to your general condition if taken as a drink. 
Quench your thirst with either water or milk, and don't 
have less respect for your stomach than an animal that 
could not be induced to drink anything quite as artificial 
as any one of the above-named beverages. 



MILK. 

Much has been written about milk as a cause of pulmo- 
nary phthisis. In order that there can be no misappre- 
hension concerning this subject, it should be understood, 
though, that diseased milk does not act directly as a poison, 
and so cause tuberculosis. To be sure, when it is diseased 
to such a degree as to contain pus globules, and is otherwise 
loaded with organic impurities, it would, if then taken 
into the human system, act as a poison, and give rise 
to many marked functional disturbances, and yet by no 
means cause the above-mentioned disease. As an exclu- 
sive diet of such milk for any length of time is practically 
impossible, since severe sickness is sure to immediately 
follow its use, and though the system should be in a con- 
dition favorable to the development of tuberculosis, if the 
milk was long continued, being almost at once stopped, on 
account of the disturbance it would create, that disease 
would not, as a result, develop from such a limited use 
of it. The way it acts, however, as an aid in the devel- 
opment of phthisis, is as an abnormal nutriment and 
not as a poison. Having once been pervaded by the 
vital force of an organism that is diseased, it still, though 
transferred to another living body, retains the negative 
principle of that force, and so is not the proper kind of 
nutriment with which to build up healthy lung tissue or 
any other. For, when material used for that purpose is 
negative, the tissue so built would partake of the nature 



MILK. 77 

of its atoms, and be also negative or abnormal, and so 
serve as an objective point for all diseased conditions that 
afflict the system to center upon. Moreover, such tissue 
lacking the tone and vigor of health, breaks down much 
quicker than it otherwise would if built of healthy atoms. 

Again, a rapid disintegration of the latter would give 
the absorbing vessels more than they could do, and, as a 
result, what they fail to carry off would simply remain 
imbedded in the cellular tissue and form the nucleus of 
what is termed a " tubercul." When an organism is well 
fortified with a maximum degree of vital force, as well 
as otherwise environed by ideal conditions that greatly 
sustain good health, diseased milk put in drinks may 
be taken for an indefinite length of time and not cause 
pulmonary phthisis, its ill effects being repelled. If, 
however, the system is sapped of its vitality by dissipa- 
tion, and is made to inhale bad air a good part of the 
time, diseased milk, as a food, will then act not only 
promptly, but powerfully, as a direct aid in the develop- 
ment of that disease. Thus, we see that, even at its worst, 
it is not to be regarded as the exclusive cause of the devel- 
opment of that affliction, but rather a very powerful aid. 
In some cases, it might prove to be the leading one, 
just as bad air or any other. 

For when the organism might have otherwise escaped 
pulmonary phthisis, notwithstanding a loss of vital force 
in a degree, diseased milk would then be all that was 
wanting to reduce the system sufficiently to cause its 
very rapid development. Indeed, the danger is so great 
to this class of persons, who are very numerous, that, 
while we are personally in favor of the abolition of capital 
punishment, we feel like drawing the line between those 
who kill their fellow-men in a fit of passion and they 
who often, with premeditated fiendishness, sell the milk 
of cows that they know are diseased, and thus, for the 
sake of gain, aid directly in the wholesale destruction of 
humanity. It is obvious, then, that the milk that does 
the harm is that from cows that appear to be healthy, yet 
have tuberculosis. Indeed, its danger lies in the fact 
that it appears to be rich and pure, and in no manner 



78 ALIMENTATION. 

whatever diseased, as well as getting in its insidious work, 
by causing little or no functional disturbance of the sys- 
tem. 

Never drink the milk, then, of a cow fed on swill, 
or one that is house-fed in summer, no matter how rich 
it may otherwise appear to be. "When persons propose to 
live on an exclusive milk diet, they should go to the coun- 
try, for milk obtained there is better than can be pro- 
cured in the city, as even the best of it is harmed by 
transportation. Besides, there is no certainty of just 
where it comes from when bought in the city ; while in 
the country it is an easy matter to not only inspect the 
cattle, but also their pasture and stables. Adding water 
to it is a small matter compared to the selling of milk 
from diseased cows ; and, if there were as much energy 
displayed in ferreting out diseased cattle as detecting an 
overplus of water in the milk, it would be far more com- 
mendable. 

The mortality from pulmonary phthisis is great 
in every community, and it should defend itself against 
any such a possibility as the sale of diseased milk 
by a rigid inspection of all the cows within its jurisdic- 
tion by medical experts, and not, as is often the case, by 
ignorant politicians. The time of year to make a special 
inspection of them is in the latter part of the winter or 
in the early spring, after they have been housed for 
months, as the latter condition is just as favorable for the 
development of pulmonary phthisis in them as it is in a 
human being. 



THE BLOOD. 79 



CIRCULATORY SYSTEM. 



THE BLOOD. 

No matter how much the material for the building-up 
of the system may be prepared by the organs of diges- 
tion, it is only through the medium of the blood and its 
circulation that it is enabled to reach its destination. 
And, as this whole question enters largely into our gen- 
eral subject, it becomes absolutely necessary that we 
should have a correct knowledge concerning it. The 
blood should never be regarded as a mere red fluid circu- 
lating through the system, performing in some mysterious 
manner its physiological labors, but simply a nutritious 
liquid holding in solution all the ingredients necessary for 
the repair and construction of every tissue and organ in the 
body. The blood contains two kinds of corpuscles — the 
red and white — the former measuring in diameter any- 
where from one three-thousandths to one four-thousandths 
of an inch. The quantity of blood found in the human 
organism has been estimated to be in the ratio of one to 
eight. Thus, when a person in health weighs one hun- 
dred and forty-five pounds, the amount of blood in his 
system is eighteen pounds. On the same basis, if a per- 
son suffering from organic lung disease were to lose forty 
pounds of his weight, he would then have left in his 
organism but twelve and one-half pounds of blood, show- 
ing a loss of five and one-tenth pounds of the latter. 



THE HEAET AND GENEEAL CIBCULATION. 

The heart is a powerful muscle, about the size of a 
person's fist. It is five inches in length, three and a-half 
in thickness, and weighs from ten to twelve ounces. 



80 CIRCULATORY SYSTEM. 

Its upper and larger part is located exactly in the mid- 
dle of the chest, between the two lungs, and not away to 
one side, as many people think. To be exact, the heart ■ 
occupies the lower two-thirds of the space immediately 
behind the breast bone or sternum, its base extending 
from the lower part of the second rib to the fifth rib, 
while its apex extends as far to the left at a point about 
two inches below the left nipple. The interior of the 
heart is divided into four compartments, called " auricles" 
and " ventricles." These latter being again divided in 
the centre by a muscular wall called the 4 c septum." Again, 
each auricle and ventricle are separated by valves that 
close down over the openings between them, like a trap- 
door. Then, we have the bicuspid valves between the 
right auricle and right ventricle, and the mitral valves 
between the left auricle and left ventricle. There are 
also the semi-lunar valves, six in number — three that 
stand guard over the opening or orifice between the right 
ventricle and the pulmonary artery, while the other three 
occupy a like position between the left ventricle and the 
aorta, which is the largest blood vessel in the body, ex- 
tending down through the abdomen where it subdivides 
like the branches of a tree, and constitutes the arterial 
blood vessels of the abdomen and extremities, while from 
its arch arises the arteries that supply the upper part 
of the trunk and lungs, as well as the head and arms. 

Accompanying each artery is a vein which, though dif- 
ferent in structure, is practically the artery's counterpart, 
for it returns the same volume of blood to the heart that 
the latter carried away. Thus, as the venous blood re- 
turns from the capillaries and veins, it passes up through 
the vena cava, or largest vein in the body that corre- 
sponds to the aorta as an artery — and passes through the 
right auricle, and thence through the right ventricle and 
pulmonary artery into the lungs. Here we have the right 
side of the heart and the pulmonary artery, the venous 
side, which first receives the entire venous blood of the 
system. The blood being arterialized, or oxidized, in the 
lungs, makes its exit from them through the pulmonary 
veins, which open into the left auricle of the heart, and 



CIRCULATION OF BLOOD IN LUNG TISSUE. 81 

from thence into the left ventricle, and by the aorta and 
its subdivisions is carried over the entire system. The 
function of the general circulation is not only to carry nu- 
triment to the different parts of the body, but oxygen 
also, as well as to absorb carbonic acid from the tissues 
and bring it back to the lungs, where it is exhaled. 

CIRCULATION OF BLOOD THBOUGH THE 
ORGANIC CELLULAR TISSUE OF THE 
LUNGS. 

In the consideration of the question of lung healing 
and development, all the details of the circulation of 
blood through the organic structure of the lungs them- 
selves are of the highest importance. Just here it 
should be correctly understood that the circulation of 
blood passing through them to be oxidized does not con- 
tribute directly, in the slightest degree, to either the 
circulation or nutrition of the organic structure of those 
organs themselves, its oxidizing act being as purely 
functional as the digestion of food is on the part of the 
stomach, which we know performs its work not for itself 
alone, but for the entire organism. As it is, the organic 
cellular tissue of the lungs depends for its supply of 
blood and nutriment upon the bronchial arteries, which 
take their rise from the arch of the aorta. Now, these 
arteries, like all others, are well supplied with elastic 
tissue, which enables them to expand when the general 
circulation is strong and full, thereby increasing their 
calibre and ability to receive a larger quantity of blood, 
as well as to contract when weak, causing a correspond- 
ing decrease of volume through them. It is evident, then, 
that if the general circulation be strong and full, all 
things being equal, that these arteries will carry to the 
lung tissue a current of a like nature ; while, on the con- 
trary, if it be weak and impoverished, it will as a con- 
sequence likewise lack in power and volume. And, as 
exercise of any organ increases its local circulation, it is 
evident that, even when the circulation of the system is 



82 CIRCULATORY SYSTEM. 

below the normal, that exercise of the lungs will, by 
attracting a larger quantity of blood to their organic 
cellular tissue, so enable them to not only increase the 
calibre of their blood vessels, but cause the lungs to 
receive a larger supply of blood and nutriment than they 
had previously done when not exercised. 

On the principle, then, that a thing cannot be con- 
structed out of nothing, it is evident that, when there is a 
decrease of circulation to the lungs, that they sustain a 
corresponding loss of nutriment. To illustrate : If the 
normal circulation in the system represents, say, one 
hundred, then to keep it up to that standard of health, 
strength and vigor requires a volume of blood equal to 
that amount. When, however, it represents in volume 
but seventy-five, then the logical conclusion is that the 
amount of nutriment in a volume of blood representing 
that number is twenty-five per cent, below the normal. 
Such a general loss of circulation and nutriment would 
seem to imply that the lungs must of necessity lose in 
unison with all the other organs of the body, as well as 
the general system, a twenty-five per cent, loss of weight 
and shrinkage of their bulk. While this is undoubtedly 
true in a general sense, as applied to the whole organism, 
it is not equally true as applied to the organs of the body, 
more especially those like the heart and the lungs, that 
cannot in any special degree suspend their functions, but 
must continue their work as long as life lasts, and are 
thus being worn out constantly under any and all cir- 
cumstances. 

How it occurs that a twenty-five per cent, loss of blood 
and nourishment, which, of course, means a like loss in 
bodily weight, as applied to the general organism, does 
not apply to such organs of the system as the lungs, is of 
special interest to us. 

It is evident, then, that when such a very great waste 
of material occurs to the organism, from any cause what- 
ever, such as protracted sickness, pulmonary phthisis, 
starvation or the hibernation of animals, that, while the 
whole organism loses in weight and bulk in a degree, that 
the greatest loss is sustained by the adipose, or fat tissue, 



CIRCULATION OF BLOOD IN LUNG TISSUE. 83 

muscular system, and such organs in rotation that are 
used the least, while others, such as the lungs, that are 
used the most, are sustained, protected and nourished 
the best, strange as it may seem. 

Otherwise, a twenty-five per cent, loss of cellular tissue 
would mean their utter destruction in a short time, yet 
we know for a fact that the heart and lungs are the last 
to give out under such circumstances. For, even when 
protracted starvation occurs, and no nutriment is taken 
into the system, the lungs, with but a slight shrinkage in 
weight and bulk, if any, continue to perform their func- 
tion just the same ; while, after death from that cause, 
we find no such a condition present as ulceration, pro- 
vided they had not been previously diseased, showing 
that their tissue had not disintegrated, notwithstanding 
its continued oxidization for so long a period, but had, on 
the contrary, been rebuilt as fast as it had worn out. It 
is evident, also, that they were not built out of nothing. 
From whence, then, comes the nutriment, under such 
conditions, to rebuild the worn-out lung tissue. In reply 
to this question there are several things for us to thor- 
oughly comprehend in order that we may intelligently 
understand how this matter is accomplished. 

As a preliminary step in this direction, we call your 
attention to the circulation of blood from the arch of the 
aorta via the bronchial arteries, lungs, and back again, 
which is, no doubt, all of ten times shorter than the cir- 
culation of blood from the heart to the feet, as well as 
proportionately shorter than the circulation to other parts 
of the body. As a result, they receive full ten times as 
much blood and nourishment as the extremities, as well 
as tone, vigor and vital force, on account of their increased 
labors. 

This could not be otherwise, for, in conformity with 
the just law of compensation, the greater their labor the 
more nutriment required. This, however, is by no means 
a full explanation of the whole matter, as it might be 
truly added that the lungs, working ten times harder 
than the feet, wear out ten times quicker, and are, conse- 
quently, no real gainer in that way, either in tone, vigor 



84 CIRCULATORY SYSTEM. 

or vital force, since this great work required a corre- 
sponding expenditure of them. 

We also know for a certainty that all the organs of 
the body are especially adapted by nature for the work 
they have to do, and the lungs are no exception to the 
rule. The rapidity of the circulation through this short 
circuit, as well as the increase of nutriment, vigor and 
vital force as a result, is a fact. We find, moreover, that 
when there is a great loss of weight, or wasting of 
organic tissue of the whole body, resulting from many 
forms of sickness, pulmonary phthisis, starvation, as well 
as such a state of health as is found in the organism of 
the hibernating animal, that there is always going on, as 
long as life exists, an oxidization of not only the lungs, but 
the whole structure of the system, which is accomplished, 
as may be readily understood, through the medium of 
the general circulation. This results in the various 
tissues breaking down, and the material so thrown off 
being absorbed by the lacteals, which, after giving up 
their oxygen to the carbon, and thus forming carbonic 
acid to be exhaled by the lungs, is reconverted into 
nutriment for the upbuilding of organic cellular tissue, 
and as such is carried up through the thoracic duct and 
emptied into the left subclavian vein, and from thence by 
the circulation conveyed all over the entire organism, to 
be re-utilized for building-up purposes. 

In this way every part of the organism furnishes its 
quota of broken-down material, more especially those parts 
that are used the most. It might be here argued, then, 
that, if the lungs worked ten times harder than other parts 
of the body, they, by furnishing ten times the amount of 
worn-out tissue, would simply in return receive back what 
they had contributed, and so gain nothing in that direc- 
tion. This, however, is not a fact, for the very reason 
that those parts of the organism, as the limbs and mus- 
cles, that are used the least receive from the brain less 
and less positive vibrations with which to attract nutri- 
ment from the blood. Hence, notwithstanding they are 
continually losing in weight by constant oxidization, they 
receive less and less brain vibrations with which to 



CIRCULATION OF BLOOD IN LUNG TISSUE. 85 

attract their share back again out of the general circula- 
tion, after it has been reconverted into material fit for 
reconstructing cellular tissue, and so it remains there for 
the internal organs to utilize, which they do, the vibra- 
tions furnished them being much stronger by virtue of 
their involuntary action Causing a concentration of vital 
force on them. This is especially applicable to the heart 
and lungs, for though their cellular tissues are oxidized 
like all others, and a waste of their organic elements takes 
place, still they not only receive it back again, but also, in 
addition, a large portion furnished by the various parts 
of the entire organism as well. 

That such is indeed true, we have but to refer to the 
condition of the bear as a living example, whose body is, 
as he enters his den to hibernate for the winter, loaded 
with adipose tissue and burdened with albumen and in- 
organic salts, only to come forth in the spring lank and 
lean in muscle and limb, yet with his every organ not only 
not diseased or the worse for wear, but with their every 
function in a perfectly normal state. Thus, we establish 
the all-important fact, and place it on a sound physiolog- 
ical basis, that when a person is suffering from any dis- 
eased condition of the body that causes a great loss of 
both weight and bulk, such as takes place in pulmonary 
phthisis, that a quiescent state of the muscular system is 
a necessity for the cure of that disease. 

And as the lungs thus feed on the material furnished 
by other parts of the system, in like manner they also 
monopolize all the vital force or brain vibrations that 
would be otherwise used as the motive power for those 
parts, provided they are not used. This applies to the 
brain and the functions of any and all organs, as well as 
the muscular system. These conclusions might lead some 
to favor starvation as a remedy for pulmonary phthisis, 
arguing that the nutriment so furnished by the lacteals 
was peculiarly adapted for that purpose by virtue of its 
once having been a part of the cellular structure of some 
part of the body, and even point to the fact that such 
organs as the stomach and bowels have practically sus- 
pended their functions for weeks and even months, and 



86 CIRCULATORY SYSTEM. 

yet had made a complete recovery, having during that 
time existed chiefly on such nutriment as was furnished 
by the lacteals. 

They might even add that the lacteals would have far 
less work to do, and so the vital force utilized by them in 
other parts of the body, having been entirely suspended, 
would be concentrated upon those in the lungs, and so 
enable them to do their work all the more effectually in 
the absorption of tubercle masses located there. We 
have no experience in the matter of attempting to cure 
phthisis by starvation. We are satisfied, however, that 
in this disease, as in all others, we should individualize ; 
and, if we find our patients have a good appetite, or even 
a fair one, that we should utilize it as an aid to their re- 
covery by feeding them well with good, nourishing food ; 
while if others have the worst possible kind of indiges- 
tion, and suffer after taking the lightest kind of nourish- 
ment, and thus have the stomach serve as a means by 
which vital force is continually wasted, to the great 
detriment of the lungs, that, perhaps, semi-starvation 
might serve a good purpose, at least for a time. These 
cases, when advanced, are always desperate ; and, as be- 
tween starvation and taking drugs, we would prefer the 
former. 

LUNG NUTBITION. 

We find, as we proceed with our subject, that an ac- 
quaintance with the manner in which the lungs are built 
up and worn out is of the utmost importance, in order 
that the reader may more correctly understand the sig- 
nificance of lung healing and lung development in all its 
essentials. As it is, we find the human organism made 
up of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, and such 
organic compounds as sugar, fat and albuminous sub- 
stances, which evaporate when entire incineration or 
complete decomposition of the body takes place, and the 
inorganic elements, or salts, which remain, and constitute 
the ingredients of the ashes thus left. The organic part 
of the system is sugar and fat, and consists of carbon, 



LUNG NUTRITION 87 

hydrogen and nitrogen, while the albuminous material 
consists of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur 
and phosphorus. The inorganic salts are as follows : 
Sodium sulphate, calcium sulphate, potassium sulphate, 
sodium phosphate, calcium phosphate, potassium phos- 
phate, magnesium phosphate, ferric phosphate, potassium 
chloride, sodium chloride, silica, calcium floride. 

The system receives oxygen from the air, oxygen and 
hydrogen from water, the organic and inorganic elements, 
or basic material for the cellular structure of the entire 
organism, from the food we eat and the liquids we drink 
Three-fourths of the human system is made up of water 
alone, or hydrogen and oxygen, when combined in the 
proportions of one to two (HO 2 ); The remaining fourth 
consists of the inorganic elements that are utilized in the 
organic structure of the lungs, as well as the other parts, 
and thereby serve as the bricks, mortar and timber of the 
whole system. In all forms of nourishing foods, such as 
the cereals, meat, milk and vegetables, we find the above- 
mentioned organic and inorganic elements present in such 
quantities as to be all-sufficient for the needs of any 
healthy living body. After food containing these ele- 
ments has been thoroughly masticated, and thus suffi- 
ciently mixed with saliva, it passes into the stomach, 
where all but its starchy and fat portions are acted upon by 
the gastric juice in from one to five hours, or even longer, 
according to the nature of the food undergoing digestion. 
It next passes through the pylorus into the small intes- 
tines, and is there brought in contact with the pancreatic 
and intestinal juices. There, in the form of a thin liquid 
or emulsion containing the above-mentioned organic and 
inorganic elements, it is absorbed by a system of little 
vessels called " villi," which, like the many minute roots 
of a plant, extend from the mucous surface of the intes- 
tine into the liquid. After its passage through these 
little vessels it enters directly into the venous circulation. 
Part of it, on the other hand, such as the fat, is taken up 
by the lacteals, and, after its final passage through the 
thoracic duct, is emptied into the left subclavian vein at a 
point just under the collar bone, and almost in front of 



88 CIRCULATORY SYSTEM. 

the sternum. It is then passed through the lungs, and, 
by the arterial circulation, carried all over the system, 
where it is utilized to supply its entire wants. If, follow- 
ing digestion, we examine the blood, we will find in it the 
identical organic and inorganic elements that we have 
previously mentioned as being contained in the above- 
enumerated articles of food, v Again, by going further, we 
ascertain, as a result of our analysis, that the different 
tissues of the body, including the lungs, are made up of 
those identical elements, they being attracted to them 
directly from the circulation. By absorption is meant the 
passage of these elements in a liquid or semi-liquid state 
through the different membranes that intervene between 
the circulation containing them and the tissues that util- 
ize them. This process is called, when passing in, " en- 
dosmosis; " when passing out, "exosmosis." 

HOW THE CELLS OF THE LUNGS AEE MADE. 

Pathologists tell us that a portion of the blood liquid 
of the general circulation transudes continually into the 
surrounding tissue, and, in that way, germs arise from 
which the cells of the lungs, or any other organ or tissue, 
are formed. The use of the word " transudes " in this 
manner is meaningless, since it simply implies that the 
material in the circulation, destined for cell building, 
eventually reaches its destination, no other explanation 
being offered as to just how the work is done. To say 
that the blood liquid transudes through a membrane is 
to affirm that it is forced through by a high pressure of 
the circulation, and not drawn in by some attractive 
power within the cell itself. Yet, the transuding of blood 
liquid in this or any other manner does not explain how 
the general circulation, containing as it does, in a pro- 
miscuous mixture, all the organic and inorganic elements 
necessary for the cell formation of the lungs, differing, 
as it does, so very materially from the cell formation of 
the bones, could transude or force through any particu- 
lar membrane, the exact elements, as well as in the 
required proportions, needed for a definite cell structure. 



HOW LUNG CELLS ARE MADE. 89 

Neither does ifc make plain how the membrane utilized 
for transuding purposes could of itself accomplish this 
work. Because a membrane, when separated from the 
living organism, will, by the simple process of endosmosis, 
permit the mixture of two different salts, held in separate 
solutions, by each interchanging with the other, merely 
proves that it, on general principles, is well adapted for 
that kind of work, but in no way explains how this same 
membrane, when in a living body, will refuse all but a 
minute amount of certain cell material, yet readily 
transfer to a cell structure undergoing construction, 
even in large quantities, those elements that are abso- 
lutely necessary for its special wants. 

How two such different cell formations as those of the 
lungs and bones can arise from the same source may 
be easily explained, however, as follows: It is evident 
that the brain alone not only generates the nerve force 
or motive power that controls the different organs of the 
body, but likewise its whole cellular formation. It must 
be here then, and not in the transudation of blood liquid 
by endosmosis, that we must look for the cause and 
origin of the varied kinds of cell architecture. 

Just how each one is built up, not only of the 
special material for its construction, but in the definite 
proportions necessary, out of the general circulation, con- 
taining as it does, material for all kind of cell building, 
mixed -promiscuously together, can be readily under- 
stood. It is hardly necessary to say that all varieties of 
cell formation, like all kinds of crystallization, are carried 
on by some distinct, specific, natural law. Seeing, then, 
that the brain draws upon the whole system for power 
that it utilizes in the generation of vibrations which are 
transmitted over the nerves of the body, even as a 
magnetic battery transmits a current over its wire, as well 
as having the same peculiar intermittent flow, it is evi- 
dent that these vibrations are either magnetic or elec- 
trical in character. The system is then practically a 
battery made up of cell formations, each a battery, itself 
having its negative and positive pole, and all united, when 
health is present, in one grand harmonious whole. 



90 CIRCULATORY SYSTEM. 

Now, when material is needed for cellular structure, the 
magnetic power of the cell is increased by the brain re- 
sponding to its wants with an increased flow of vibrations, 
The cell then acts upon the membrane that intervenes 
between it and the circulation, and attracts from and 
through it (endosmosis) the elements necessary both as 
to quantity and kind. Yet, again, each molecule of mat- 
ter held in solution by the circulation is endowed with a 
negative and positive polarity of its own, w r hich throws 
out vibrations distinctly peculiar to itself. Thus, for 
instance, when such a compound as calcium phosphate is 
needed in a cell, its want is transmitted to the brain, 
which in return transmits vibrations of such a character 
as to correspond to those thrown out by that salt, and 
in this manner it is attracted by endosmosis through the 
membrane into the cell formation. 

When a material, however, enters into the construc- 
tion of a cellular tissue in but a slight degree, then it will 
be found that the special power to attract such an element 
is weak. After passing through the membrane, the atom, 
in obedience to attraction, is carried directly to the cell 
undergoing construction. There it takes up its definite, 
fixed position by the cell vibrations acting upon its polar- 
ity, and the atom is rotated into position — its positive pole 
corresponding to the positive pole of the cell and its vi- 
brations, its negative pole in the same manner — and it thus 
becomes for the time being an integral part of the cell 
structure. In this manner the building-up process goes 
on till the cell is complete. In cases of starvation, the 
cells of the whole body are making, through the sympa- 
thetic system, demands on the stomach for the elements 
necessary for their upbuilding ; hence, a great appetite. 

When a person reaches his maximum weight, then the 
demands of cell growth are limited to the wearing-out 
process, which occurs in the following way : The moment 
an atom takes up its place as an integral part of a cell, it is 
immediately acted upon by the oxygen in the circulation. 
Thus it becomes oxidized very rapidly, following plenty 
of exercise, and slowly, if little be taken. As the atom 
becomes thus oxidized, it loses its positive characteristics, 



OXYGEN. 91 

and slowly turns on its axis until the two positives and 
the two negatives of the atom and cell antagonize, then 
it is repelled. When thus discharged, it is evident that 
it does not make its exit the way it entered, but rather 
through the membrane intervening between it and the 
lacteals, when by the mere functions of those vessels it is 
absorbed, and, after giving up its oxygen to the carbon 
to form carbonic acid, it is once more in a condition to be 
used over again for all cell-constructing purposes, after 
which it again enters the circulation, while the parts 
unfit to be again utilized are eliminated by such organs 
as the liver, in the form of bile ; the kidneys as phos- 
phates and urates ; the skin and bowels by perspiratory 
excretions, defecations, etc. 



OXYGEN. 

Since oxygen is the great positive element of the air 
we breathe, and thus enters largely into the subject of 
our investigations, it is obvious that we should have as 
comprehensive a knowledge of it as possible. The term 
" oxygen " signifies acid-former, on the supposition that it 
was the active agent in all acids, a claim that we now 
know to be erroneous. Like the air itself, it is a color- 
less, odorless and tasteless gas, having a weight of one- 
tenth of the atmosphere. It is very widely diffused 
throughout nature, not only constituting one-fifth of the 
air, but one-half of all bodies of water, like the seas 
and oceans, a like amount of all solids, such as the rocks 
that make up the crust of the earth, the soil beneath our 
feet, as well as all animal and vegetable bodies with 
which we come in contact. 

On account of the intensity of its chemical affinity, it 
unites readily with all other elements, with the single 
exception of fluorine. Thus, all forms of fire, heat or 
combustion in any form in the air, whether slow or rapid, 
are but the result of its action upon some such element 
as carbon. As proof of this, we have but to burn any 
material in free oxygen, when we find the intensity of its 



92 CIRCULATORY SYSTEM. 

combustion correspondingly increased, while, on the con- 
trary, if we immerse it in pure nitrogen, it instantly 
ceases. So destructive, in fact, is the flame of pure oxy- 
gen that it will burn even iron wire or filings as readily 
as a light fibrous material is ordinarily consumed in the 
air. 

Oxygen is frequently spoken of as the most important 
of all the elements. While it certainly is, as a study, the 
most active, hence, most interesting of them all; yet, 
even from a chemical standpoint, it is hardly correct 
to call it such, since all parts of a whole are of equal 
consequence, while, from a physiological point of view, 
it is evidently of no more importance than any of the 
other elements utilized by nature in the economy of 
organic structure. Oxygen not only supports all forms 
of combustion, but also every form of life. In fact, with- 
out it there could be no such thing as organic existence ; 
still, the same could be as justly said of any one of the 
elements that constitute the ingredients of all tissue 
structure. Also the activity of animal life, both physical 
and mental, depends on the proportion of oxygen that is 
absorbed by the system. When cold and sluggish, like 
worms, starfish and reptiles, they need but little. On the 
other hand, where there is present a high degree of 
physical development, then a corresponding amount of 
it is necessary. This is particularly noticeable in various 
kinds of land quadrupeds and birds, where great speed 
and endurance are shown. The same is equally true of 
man; for, where is found great physical development, 
strength and activity, we find it always accompanied with 
superb lung capacity for absorbing oxygen. 

Even where there is great mental power, all things 
being equal, the person who absorbs the greatest quantity 
of oxygen will do the most work. There may be writers 
and others who do the very best brain work, and yet have 
weak lungs, and as a result absorb but a medium amount 
of it. Still, on inquiry, it will be found that they do 
but little work at a time, thus showing a lack of mental 
endurance. 

As we have already seen, oxygen attacks all elements 



OXYGEN. 93 

except fluorine, and oxidizes them just as readily within 
the body as without. Still, when an organism is con- 
trolled by the element of life itself, and the amount of 
oxygen inhaled is in just such proportions as contained 
in the air, the oxidization of organic tissue occurs in just 
the proportion to nature's ability to rebuild it. In fact, 
if there were no oxidization of tissue, in just this exact 
degree there would be no life. "When the amount, how- 
ever, of oxygen absorbed is in excess, and so out of pro- 
portion with the ability of the system to repair the de- 
struction that follows, and is continued for a period 
sufficiently long, death is the inevitable consequence. 
Acting upon all elements, it is apparent that oxygen 
makes no distinction between a living and a dead body, 
but attacks each with the same never-ceasing persistency. 
So, when life is extinct in an organism, the oxidization 
of the dead tissue goes on the same, but is then called 
decomposition. It thus, by its energetic powers of disin- 
tegration, resolves the body into its original state of 
gases and inorganic elements. 

Artificial, and even natural, means, at times, may 
exclude the air from a decaying mass, and thus retard 
its oxidization, but, generally speaking, oxygen, like space 
itself, is ever present in the vicinity of all decomposing 
material, and there acts as nature's great scavenger and 
renovator. When we say oxygen supports life, it should 
be understood we mean only in such exact proportions 
as we find it in the atmosphere. For, when otherwise 
taken into the system for a sufficient length of time, 
death is the result, thus proving that, while it supports 
life when breathed in such proportions as found in the air, 
it is destructive to it when substituted in a free state. It 
also acts upon, and, therefore, neutralizes all foul odors 
arising from unclean and diseased living organisms, as 
well as the putrid exhalations from dead vegetable and 
animal matter; also such acid fumes as are given off 
from chemical combustion. Nothing, in fact, is too in- 
significant or gigantic to claim its attention, whether it 
be the perfume of the rose, the flitting will o' the wisp, or 
a mighty volcano in action. Even contagious and infec. 



94: CIRCULATORY SYSTEM. 

tious germs, when brought in contact with a sufficient 
volume of air, are destroyed by being oxidized. 

NITKOGEN. 

Since nitrogen constitutes four parts of the air that 
we inhale during the act of respiration, it is self-evident 
that a knowledge of it is indispensable. This element is 
a colorless, tasteless and odorless gas, not quite as heavy 
as air. It is found widely distributed in nature, making 
in volume four-fifths of our entire atmosphere, being also 
a component part of nearly all animal and vegetable or- 
ganisms, as well as of many of the products resulting 
from their decomposition. "When compared with its op- 
posite, oxygen, it appears inert, still its function during 
the act of respiration makes it as indispensable as oxygen 
itself; hence, its equal. As it is, neither oxygen nor 
nitrogen is the air any more than oxygen and hydrogen is 
water. United in their natural proportions of one of the 
former to four of latter, they constitute the air that 
supports all forms of animal life. Separately, they are 
simply gases, the former actually destroying life, as we 
have already seen, when breathed in a free state, while 
the latter fails to sustain it. 

Even any artificial mixture of these gases, say, in 
the proportion of one to five, would, in a like manner, 
be productive of disease and death, if substituted for 
the air. In fact, in all things pertaining to the economy 
of the human system, nature always deals in exact pro- 
portions, and in no manner will permit the substitution 
of one element for another or one equivalent for another, 
such as the separate inhalation of oxygen or nitrogen, 
in a pure state for the air we breathe. For example, if 
a person were to breathe by itself and in a free 
state the amount of oxygen and hydrogen that would, 
when chemically united, make a cup of water, their 
absorption by the lungs in the state of gases, even 
though in the same definite proportions, would not take 
the place as a substitute for that necessary quantity of 
water to the system. The simple fact is, then, that the 



CARBONIC ACID. 95 

organism needs neither oxygen nor nitrogen for breathing 
purposes, but simply air. It is even to be seriously 
doubted whether any mechanical mixture of these two 
elements by man, even in their exact proportions, could 
take the place for an indefinite period of the life- 
sustaining and health-restoring atmosphere that comes 
to us from the hand of nature. Nitrogen, furthermore, 
is the vehicle or medium that makes it possible for 
oxygen to enter the lungs in the exact quantity neces- 
sary for the system. 

Its volume being four times greater than oxygen, it 
]31ays even a more prominent part in lung expansion, than 
that element itself. Thus its very negative state prevents it 
from acting harshly on the delicate lung tissue as it 
otherwise would were it endowed with the same char- 
acteristics. It also dilutes it, and the latter so 
prevents it from destroying not only the respiratory 
organs themselves, but the entire system. Nitrogen is 
not considered a poison, since animals made to breathe 
it in a free state, are not supposed to die from its toxic 
effects, but rather from a want of oxygen. This element, 
then, is by no means a nonentity, as is sometimes 
inferred, but rather one of the highest importance, 
performing the functions of its office with the same 
nicety and precision as oxygen itself or any of its co- 
equals. 

CARBONIC ACID. 

As one of the most prominent functions of the lungs 
is to exhale carbonic acid, we find it, as thus connected 
with our general subject, a matter worthy of our most 
serious consideration. Carbonic acid is a compound of 
carbon and oxygen in the proportions of one of the 
former to two of the latter (CO 2 ). Furthermore, it is a 
transparent, colorless gas, having a somewhat acid taste 
and odor. Like ashes, it is incombustible, being itself 
the product of the perfect combustion of carbon. It is 
estimated to be one and fifty-three one-hundredths heavier 
than air, and can, like a liquid, be easily poured out 



96 CIRCULATORY SYSTEM. 

of one vessel into another. It is, likewise, very soluble in 
water or liquids containing it, for which reason water 
standing over night, in either a closed sleeping apartment 
or a sick room, is unfit for drinking purposes, without 
the air has, as a matter of precaution, been excluded 
from it. It exists very abundantly in nature, more espe- 
cially in the earth and carbonates, such as chalk, marble 
and limestone. It is also in the atmosphere in a free 
state, as well as in all animal and vegetable organisms. 
It may be readily made, even in vast quantities, by sim- 
ply burning fuel containing carbon in the open air. 
Furthermore, it is very easily evolved from such a carbon- 
ate as limestone, either by means of great heat, or by 
permitting strong acids to act upon it. This gas, 
moreover, is formed wherever fermentation takes place, 
either in bread, beer or wine. It is likewise formed 
within the bodies of all living organisms, and by the 
blood carried from the tissues to the lungs and there 
exhaled. 

We find it always present in natural waters as well 
as a product of the decay and putrefaction of all animal 
and vegetable bodies. Carbonic acid often accumulates 
over marshy grounds, in sewers and cellars, to such an 
extent as to be dangerous to the life of the individual 
who comes in contact with it. 

It is, however, at the bottom of old wells, mining 
shafts, beer vats, manholes and jungles, where there is 
no ventilation, that it collects in such quantities as to 
cause death to the person who breathes it. Thus, the 
miner, in order to test its presence or absence, lowers a 
lighted candle into the mine. If it reaches its destina- 
tion and goes out, then he knows for a certainty that 
it is positively present in such quantities as to make it 
hazardous for him to go down. Should it remain 
lighted, however, he is then certain that there is 
at least an absence of carbonic acid in its purity, as well 
as the presence of oxygen in quantities sufficient to 
support life. When the former is inhaled in a free 
state, it may destroy life in either of two ways — that is, 
by spasm of the glottis, or by filling up the lungs like a 



RESPIRATION. 97 

thin liquid, and so cause death by suffocation, on account 
of the mere mechanical exclusion of the air. When 
diluted with ten times its quantity of the latter and 
breathed sufficiently long, it acts like a narcotic poison, 
gradually producing insensibility, and at last death. 
Even when oxygen is present only in quantity enough to 
enable a candle to remain lighted, its effect on the human 
system resembles that produced by opium poisoning, 
causing at first a very tranquil feeling, followed by 
heaviness, sleep, stupor, coma and death. 



KESPIRATION. 

We next come to the question of respiration, and find 
that in the human organism we have two kinds of blood 
in circulation ; namely, the red, or arterial, and the dark, 
or venous. It is while circulating through the capillaries, 
or hair-like blood vessels, that the blood loses its distinct- 
ive red color, and becomes blue or dark. In this condi- 
tion, however, it becomes so burdened with impurities 
that it is unfit for further use unless renovated. This is 
accomplished by returning it through the veins to the 
heart, and then through the pulmonary artery to the 
lungs, where, in the walls of the air cells, it is brought in 
contact with the air we breathe, and is there reconverted 
into arterial blood. The process by which the venous 
blood is thus changed into arterial is termed " respira- 
tion." Now, while on the one hand it has given up its 
impurities, it should be borne in mind that the air within 
the air cells receives them, and afterwards becoming so 
thoroughly inflated that they cannot receive any more ; 
hence, the necessity of its removal, which is accomplished 
by the movements of respiration known as " inspiration " 
and " expiration." 

The former is brought about in the following 
manner: The contents of the thoracic and abdominal 
cavities, as we have already seen, are separated by the 
diaphragm. This partition is arched so that, when its 
central fibres contract, it is drawn down. As a result, it 



98 CIRCULATORY SYSTEM. 

pushes the abdominal organs, such as the liver and 
stomach, before it from beneath, while the lungs follow 
after from above. With its descent, the intercostal 
muscles expand -in such a manner as to permit 
the whole bony structure of the chest to do like- 
wise. This double action on their part increases the 
space occupied by the lungs before the act began. As a 
result, the air rushes in and inflates them. The filling 
of the lungs thus is called "inspiration." After the 
latter have been so inflated, the diaphragm and intercos- 
tals relax, and a part of the air and its impurities within 
them are expelled. This is called the " movement of expi- 
ration." It is a passive act ; that is, there is no active 
contraction of the diaphragm or intercostals following 
their expansion. It is brought about in the following 
way : The abdominal organs, having been pushed down 
and outwards by the distended diaphragm, simply by 
their own weight fall back into their former position, 
carrying the relaxed diaphragm before them. In like 
manner, the entire walls of the thorax that had been dis- 
tended by the action of the intercostals resume their 
former position as these muscles contract. Also, as we have 
already seen, the pulmonary tissue — which, of course, 
includes every individual air cell within both lungs — 
being supplied with an abundance of yellow elastic fibre, 
simp]y contracts after the force of expansion ceases. 



CHANGES IN THE BLOOD DUKING EESPI- 
EATION. 

After the blood comes in contact with the air we 
breathe, it loses its dark hue, and becomes distinctly red, 
an explanation of which is that it receives oxygen from 
the air cells while circulating through the capillary blood 
vessels that line their walls, and in return gives up to them 
its carbonic acid. How this exchange of gases takes place 
is evidently on the principle that the blood is charged by 
the vital force with a power that enables it to attract 
oxygen from the air cells on the one hand, and repel 



CHANGES TO AIR AFTER ENTERING LUNGS. 99 

nitrogen on the other, while they, in a like manner, at- 
tract carbonic acid, only to repel it after it mixes with 
the residual nitrogen. We thus have a constant circuit of 
gases established similar to the circulation of the blood 
itself, or a stream of oxygen flowing into the blood con- 
tinuously, with an opposite flow of carbonic acid on its 
way out. From childhood up to puberty the quantity of 
the latter exhaled increases constantly with age, a boy of 
eight exhaling five hundred and sixty-four cubic inches 
per hour ; one of fifteen years, nine hundred and eighty- 
one ; while a man of twenty-five or thirty exhales on an 
average thirteen hundred and ninety-eight cubic inches 
per hour. From that period to the age of forty-five it 
remains stationary, when it diminishes slightly up to the 
age of sixty. In females, as in males, the increase of 
carbonic acid emitted is continuous up to the time the 
menses appear, when it remains stationary till menstrua- 
tion ceases ; then it again increases, only to decrease as 
the female advances towards old age. In both male and 
female, during all periods of life, its exhalation is always 
greater when the muscular system is well developed, and 
the general organism strong and healthy. It has also 
been found that a greater amount of carbonic acid is ex- 
haled during the digestion of food than when fasting. 
Much more when awake than asleep ; greater in a state 
of activity than of rest, and less when fatigued, and in all 
conditions that interfere with perfect health. This acid 
is, moreover, given off by the urine and skin. 



CHANGES THAT OCCUR TO THE AIR AFTER IT 
ENTERS THE LUNGS. 

The air we breathe is, as we have already seen, com- 
posed of oxygen and nitrogen in the proportion of one 
of the former to four of the latter. After passing 
into the air cells, and there coming in contact with the 
blood through the thin wall partition of each individual 
cell, we find it has lost, when exhaled, about six per 
cent, of its oxygen, and gained in carbonic acid, watery 



100 NORMAL AND MORBID CONDITIONS. 

vapor, animal matter and heat. It has been found that 
the watery vapor so thrown off in twenty-four hours 
is equivalent to one and a sixth of a pound, while the 
quantity of oxygen absorbed by the blood through the 
lungs is estimated to be seventeen and a half cubic feet. 
Yet, the latter when taken into the system is not entirely 
exhaled again in the form of carbonic acid, for it has 
been demonstrated that the amount absorbed by the 
body in excess of that given off varies in different animals. 
In the herbivora, for instance, the difference is about 
ten per cent., while in the carnivora it is from twenty to 
twenty-five per cent., and, in some cases, even higher. 
For, when dogs were fed entirely on animal food, it was 
found that they absorbed about twenty-five per cent, of 
the oxygen inhaled, while only about eight per cent, when 
fed on starchy food. When the proportion of the former 
has been reduced one-half in the air we breathe, it fails to 
sustain animal life. On the other hand, when there is 
present twenty per cent, of carbonic acid, it will destroy 
it. 



NORMAL and MORBID CONDITIONS. 

VITAL LUNG POWER 

Besides vital capacity, the lungs have what may justly 
be termed " vital power " or " lung strength," a very impor- 
tant item in the matter of lung healing and lung develop- 
ment. It is to the lungs what strength is to the muscle ; 
and as muscular power can only be attained through the 
increase and development of its cellular tissue, thereby 
enabling the muscle as a whole to attract more vibra- 
tions from the brain, so the lungs, in like manner, may 
by exercise be made to strengthen their cellular structure, 
and so attract an increase of vibrations from the brain as 
development goes on. To illustrate : Take two persons of 
the same age, height and weight, each with a measure- 
ment of the biceps exactly alike, and yet one will hold a 
given weight out at arm's length one-third longer than 



VITAL LUNG POWER. 101 

the other ; proving, he is the stronger man of the two. 
In a similar manner, two such individuals may each 
inspire two hundred and thirty cubic inches of air with 
one breath, yet one can hold it but a minute, while the 
other will retain his a minute and a half. In this case it 
is apparent that the vital power or lung strength of the 
one is a third stronger than the other. This power of 
the lungs we call " vital lung power," in contradistinction 
to that of vital capacity. Yet again, on trial, two per- 
sons will develop this difference — one will show that he 
has the greater vital capacity, while the other will have 
the greater vital force. The latter also, like the former, 
will differ with age, weight, height and muscular devel- 
opment, while in a diseased or weakened condition of the 
lungs it is at a low ebb, even when vital capacity is fair. 
For in all cases where we found the latter fairly 
well developed, and a severe lung trouble present, 
the former was always very weak. When required to 
inhale a deep breath, and hold it, and see how many steps 
they can take at their ordinary gait, from fifteen to 
twenty-five is generally the best they can do, and even 
then it makes them feel decidedly faint and dizzy; 
while a person with fairly strong lungs can easily take 
from forty to fifty at the first trial, and one with 
well-developed respiratory organs can go as high as 
one hundred and thirty-five, or even more, in exceptional 
cases. In all incipient lung complaints, as well as lung 
diseases, we find the loss of vital lung force more marked 
than vital capacity. This power is not, as some might 
think, located or developed in the epiglottis, as repre- 
sented by holding the breath, since that organ could 
only partake of the general strength of the respiratory 
system. All things being equal, the person having the 
greatest vital capacity ought to have the greatest vital 
force. In a case of incipient phthisis, with the vital 
force still fair, it will always be found that microbes 
are not present in the sputa. When this power falls 
below a certain point, they then make their appearance 
which may be explained in some such way as this. All 
forms of animal life are endowed with voluntary and 



102 NOBMAL AND MORBID CONDITIONS. 

involuntary combativeness, and it is especially peculiar to 
man. In a fierce struggle for life all that makes up 
the individual becomes enlisted in the fight. Thus, we 
find ever on the alert every sense he possesses, as well 
as faculty with which he is endowed, while each limb 
and muscle of the whole organism puts forth its best 
endeavor in the struggle for self-preservation. What, 
then, is peculiar to the whole is in a like degree inherent 
in a part, such as a cell in the lungs. When vermin 
annoy a person, he puts forth his strength and destroys 
them ; so, when microbes invade a cell structure, it exerts 
its power, if it possesses a sufficient degree, and annihi- 
lates them. If too weak to do this, they live and propa- 
gate their species, and thus multiply; but it will be 
found that such is never the case when vital force is well 
developed. To a lack of it is due their appearance in the 
sputa. 

VITAL CAPACITY. 

By "vital capacity" is meant a measurement of the num- 
ber of cubic inches of air contained within the lungs 
when distended by an inhaled breath to their utmost 
capacity. This measurement, we find, varies according 
to sex, age, height and weight, so that what would be 
normal in one person would be abnormal in another. 
The male, for instance, exceeds that of the female by 
thirty-eight cubic inches ; that is, by a correct compari- 
son. In the matter of height there are about eight cubic 
inches in vital capacity for every additional inch between 
the height of five and six feet. Concerning weight, it is 
said that capacity is diminished in the proportion of 
about one inch for every additional pound in excess of 
what should be normal. This may be occasioned by age 
rather than weight, inasmuch as an increase of the latter 
usually accompanies the period that intervenes between 
thirty and sixty, during which time the capacity 
diminishes nearly one and a-half inches for every year. 
Also, when the lungs are diseased, there is always a loss 
of capacity in direct proportion to the extent of the lesion. 



vital capacity. 
Table 



103 



SHOWING VITAL CAPACITY OF MALES AND FEMALES AT 
DIFFERENT HEIGHTS. 



FEET. 


IN. 


MALE. 
OU. IN. 


FEMALE. 
CU. IN. 


FEET. 


IN. 


MALE. 
CU. IN. 


FEMALE. 
CU. IN. 


4 


7 


126 


88 


5 


4 


198 


160 


4 


8 


134 


96 


5 


5 


206 


168 


4 


9 


142 


104 


5 


6 


214 


176 


4 


10 


150 


112 


5 


7 


222 


184 


4 


11 


158 


120 


5 


8 


230 


192 


5 





166 


128 


5 


9 


238 


200 


5 


1 


174 


136 


5 


10 


246 


208 


5 


2 


182 


144 


5 


11 


254 


216 


5 


3 


190 


152 


6 





264 


224 



Of twelve phthisical patients examined, those who 
had lost over three-tenths of their vital capacity only 
three lived longer than four months, as shown by the 
following table : 





LOST 






LOST 




PATIENT. 


Vit. Cap. 


SURVIVED. 


PATIENT. 


Yit. Cap. 


SURVIVED. 


No. 1 


4.10 


12 days 


No. 7 


4.10 


4mos. 


2 


5.10 


8mos. 


8 


3.10 


8 " 


3 


4.10 


2 " 


9 


3.10 


4 " 


4 


2.10 


6 " 


10 


3.10 


3 »• 


5 


4.10 


2 " 


11 


3.10 


2 " 


6 


6.10 


2 " 


12 


3.10 


3 " 



We have two measurements — one giving the natural 
or involuntary breath, and the other the voluntary or 
maximum breath. The average amount of air taken into 



104 NORMAL AND MORBID CONDITIONS. 

the lungs is estimated to be about twenty cubic inches * 
or at the rate of eighteen respirations, three hundred 
and sixty cubic inches per minute, or five hundred and 
eighteen thousand four hundred for twenty-four hours. 
Add to this the increased respiration caused by every addi- 
tional muscular exertion,, and the entire quantity that we 
breathe cannot be far from six hundred thousand cubic 
inches, or three hundred and fifty cubic feet, during that 
time. The maximum breath in some individuals may 
amount to over three hundred cubic inches. 

CHANGES THAT OCCUE IN THE HUMAN 
OEGANISM FEOM A LOSS OP VITAL 
FOECE. 

The following are a few of the changes that take place 
in the human organism when a person has lost in a 
marked degree his or her vital energy, which means a lack 
of the motive force that operates the whole system. 
When the power that runs an engine grows weak, the 
machinery goes slow. In like manner, when the body 
does not generate a sufficient degree of vital force, the 
person who has incurred the loss becomes feeble, and 
locomotion is difficult. There is this difference, however, 
between a machine and the human system : the latter in 
every part — organ and cell—is a magnet, and attracts from 
the brain its share of vibrations. When in a negative or 
diseased state, however, it fails in a measure, and so, at 
first, a want of vital force is more noticeable, locally than 
constitutionally. Thus, the lungs, for instance following 
a loss of the latter, do not work up to their full capacity, 
because they lack the cellular motive power necessary to 
enable them to do so. Thus we have a decrease of vital 
capacity, for any loss whatever of the former always 
is equivalent to a loss of the latter. But, as one ab- 
normal condition is sure to beget another, we find that a 
loss of vital capacity means a reduction of the space 
within the lungs to oxidize blood for the entire or- 
ganism. This is a necessity, since, if its volume were to 
always remain at its maximum quantity, while the loss of 



CHANGES THAT OCCUR FROM LOSS OF VITAL FORCE. 105 

capacity for oxidizing it was very much reduced, in a 
short time the entire circulation would become laden with 
carbonic acid to such an extent as to cause death. To 
avert such a catastrophe, we find that nature has so 
nicely adjusted this matter that, following a loss of vital 
force and capacity, we always find a corresponding- 
decrease in the volume of blood in the whole organism. 
Even in the last stages of pulmonary phthisis, when the 
lungs have lost a large percentage of their vital force and 
cell tissue they are still enabled to oxidize the small 
quantity of blood remaining in the general circulation. 
For, notwithstanding a shrinkage of lung capacity, we find 
patients with pulmonary diseases growing paler rather 
than dark, as they otherwise would if the blood current did 
not diminish in quantity to correspond to the above loss. 
Moreover, a decrease of circulation of the whole system 
means a loss to the organic tissue of the entire body of a 
definite percentage of both the organic and inorganic 
elements necessary for its construction, since a reduced 
circulation cannot carry the same amount of nutriment 
that a normal one could. A muscle needs, say, one- 
hundred per cent, of organic and inorganic elements to 
keep it built up to its maximum development, but 
when we find the circulation has but a carrying capacity 
of seventy per cent., and thus falls nearly one-third short 
of the normal standard, a loss of that amount to the 
muscular system is inevitable. But a loss to the general 
system of thirty per cent, of its blood means just 
that definite thirty per cent, of a loss to the organic 
cellular tissue of the lungs themselves, without all ex- 
penditure of vital force through such avenues as the 
muscular system and the brain be entirely stopped or 
greatly curtailed ; otherwise, they cannot receive within 
that percentage of the nutriment necessary to keep them 
built up to their normal standard of health and strength. 
The want of power, capacity and nutriment applies as well 
to the lacteals as the air cells. 

Thus, a thirty per cent, loss of power to them would 
mean that that amount of oxidized tissue would remain 
imbedded in the cellular structure, instead of being ab- 



106 NORMAL AND MORBID CONDITIONS. 

sorbed, and so constitute the mass known as the " tubercle. " 
To be sure, a loss of oxidizing function on the part of the 
lungs would imply slow and retarded oxidization of their 
tissue ; still, in time, it would be oxidized, and then much 
faster than the weakened lacteals could remove it. Again, 
we have seen that, after the food has been converted into 
nutriment, and finds its way into circulation, that it re- 
quires vital force on the part of all cellular tissue to 
attract it from the blood. Now, while a sufficient 
amount of it may be present in the circulation, the nega- 
tive or diseased cells lack the power to attract and utilize 
it for cell-building purposes ; hence, it passes on to sup- 
ply other parts of the body, or remains there, loading the 
blood with nutriment. And, if the circulation contains 
all the nourishment that it can possibly carry, it is evident 
that, at least until such time as it had been utilized, there 
would be no demand on the stomach for more. 

Thus, a protracted loss of vital force on the part of the 
lungs would eventually react upon the stomach, and the 
vital power that had periodically been supplied to that 
organ to digest food would no longer be needed, only 
in a minor degree ; and so it would become negative or 
weak, following which, the gastric juice itself would par- 
take of the same negative condition, resulting in a loss of 
appetite, indigestion, vomiting when coughing. Flatulence 
and diarrhoea are also likely to follow as each organ be- 
comes affected. Little nutriment supplied to the general 
organism means less nourishment to the nervous system, 
as well as to all other parts ; thereby causing the patient 
to become irritable, nervous, melancholy and restless. 
Night sweats occur, caused by the negative condition of 
the perspiratory glands, which become relaxed. Fever 
continues because of the constant oxidization of tissue, 
which is not eliminated after it has been oxidized, as well 
as on account of the antagonizing polarity of the mole- 
cular elements that make up the cellular tissue. Pro- 
gressive decrease of weight follows more from a loss of 
the watery constituents of the system than from that of 
organic and inorganic elements. This shrinkage con- 
tinues till the cellular structure of the body generates 



TUBERCULOSIS. 107 

little or no physical forces for the life principle to draw 
upon ; and, as a result, intelligence at length fails to ex- 
press itself through the organism, and death takes place. 

TUBEKCULOSIS. 

Tubercles we find in most any part of the human 
body, such as its different organs, but principally in the 
lungs. They are to be regarded as a manifestation of 
the disease known as " phthisis," rather than its primary 
cause, which is always antedated by a loss of vital power 
and capacity, which must of necessity be considered as its 
most remote cause. "We never find a conglomerate mass 
of broken-down tissue at the beginning of a disease, 
hence, the mere existence of such imbedded in the lung 
tissue is to be simply regarded as a consequence of some 
previously existing abnormal state or condition of the 
system that permitted its formation. The tubercle may, 
in appearance, be either grayish, light red, dark red, 
brownish, or very nearly colorless. Its size varies 
anywhere from that of a millet-seed to a pea or a wal- 
nut. Ihey are found singly, in groups or aggregate 
masses scattered anywhere throughout the organic tissue 
of the lung ; though, generally speaking, they first make 
their appearance in the apex or upper portion. It is evi- 
dent, moreover, that their starting point began with the 
normal worn-out cellular lung tissue that had not been 
properly eliminated by the lacteals or lymphatics, on ac- 
count of their loss of vital force, and so remained imbed- 
ded in its structure in masses, at first too small to be 
detected by the best scientific skill, or to cause a marked 
morbid disturbance to either the organ itself or the sys- 
tem, and there by the same process, continue to increase 
in bulk. They do not always run a destructive course, 
but may dry up, or, by absorption, become obliterated 
or isolated from the rest of the lung tissue by being shut 
up or inclosed in a fibrous tendonous sac or pustule, and 
there gradually converted into a cheesy mass. Or, they 
change into pus, and, after forming an abscess, break and 
empty their contents into the bronchial tubes, and be 



108 NORMAL AND MORBID CONDITIONS. 

coughed up. Frequently, and it occurs more often than 
we are aware, after the former has been discharged, the 
walls of the cavity come together and heal up, leaving no 
other vestige of the disease save a cicatrix, which becomes 
as marked on the external surface of the lungs them- 
selves as a scar on any part of the body, resulting from a 
knife wound. We have counted on the lungs of a per- 
son who died in a poor-house from phthisis no less 
than twelve such scars, showing that nature had made 
heroic efforts to cure this fearful disease, and had par- 
tially succeeded under the most adverse circumstances. 
"When the tuberculous mass becomes somewhat liquefied, 
then it is termed "phthisis." Tubercles are rarely 
found in the new-born child up to the fourth month of 
life ; while at the time of puberty, and more especially be- 
tween the ages of twenty and thirty-five tuberculosis of 
the lungs occurs the most frequently. 

MIGEOBES NOT THE CAUSE OF PULMONAK2 
PHTHISIS. 

In a work of this kind space will not permit us to go 
into a long discussion of this question in all its details. 
Suffice it to say that microbes are not the cause of pul- 
monary phthisis, but simply a product of that disease. 
In a few words we shall show that, without a previously 
existing loss of vital power, causing an abnormal condi- 
tion of the system, it would be physically impossible for 
them to find a lodgment in the human body. We, un- 
doubtedly, daily inhale an incalculable number of them ; 
but, where the health of the system is in any degree per- 
fect, they are the most harmless things imaginable. When 
we stop and consider the extreme impotency of microbes, 
compared with the strength of a normal organism, it will 
be at once apparent that the human system, when in a 
vigorous condition, is amply endowed with the necessary 
power to protect itself against them. If, for instance, 
the lungs are in a perfect state of health, and a person so 
fortified inhales a limitless number of microbes, how can 
they possibly enter the walls of its cells? Compare the 



MICROBES NOT THE CAUSE OF PULMONARY PHTHISIS. 109 

strength of a microbe to a natural breath, and the latter 
is a thousand cyclones to the former, making it impossi- 
ble for them to take up a permanent abode in the lungs. 
Even when they reach the air cells, the constant inhala- 
tion and exhalation would incessantly drive them hither 
and thither with what would be, to them, the fury of a 
hundred whirlwinds. Again, the very secretion on the 
mucous membrane of the former would be nothing less 
than a flood, compared to their size ; and, as it is con- 
stantly swashed around in every possible direction by tissue, 
contraction and dilation, the impossibility of their gaining 
a foothold therein is apparent. Thus we see that a normal 
degree of vital force and health of an air cell makes it 
adamant itself against the invasion of microbes. When 
the cells are diseased, then the conditions are entirely 
changed, for as they become slowly closed up by the ac- 
cumulation of mucus or pus, and the last inhalation that 
enters carries in a few microbes, then, being no longer 
dislodged by the breath or disturbed by the mucous se- 
cretion or the contraction and dilation of the tissue, they 
find themselves environed by conditions that will enable 
them to thrive and propagate their species. But you ask, 
" What about the specific microbe found with each dis- 
tinct disease ? " This is owing, undoubtedly, to the fact 
that there is no form of life, from the very lowest to the 
highest, but what requires c\ certain definite state to enable 
it to exist. 

Thus, the environments favorable for the propagation 
of one kind of them would be detrimental to all others, 
and they would, as a result, die. As for the microbes 
passing into the circulation, and in that way reaching the 
organic, cellular tissue of the lungs, and there penetrat- 
ing it, we find that also impossible when the lung struc- 
ture is in a normal state. Here we might pertinently 
inquire how they could, when the cellular tissue of the 
whole body was in a state of perfect health, select that 
of the lungs in preference to any other for their attack. 
Are we to endow them with the power of selection? 
Suppose they reach the capillary blood vessels of the 
lung tissue, how could they possibly stop there when the 



110 NORMAL AND MORBID CONDITIONS. 

circulation even in those minute tubes would be nothing 
more or less than the torrent of a Niagara compared to 
them; hence, their inability to make a landing -within 
the walls of any healthy tissue of the entire body when 
once within its rapids. When disease is present, however, 
it could be quite easily effected, and the conditions being 
good all they would have to do would be to multiply and 
replenish. Thus, it is evident that a real diseased state 
of the lung tissue must pre-exist before microbes can 
propagate their species, and that abnormal state is simply 
pulmonary phthisis in its early stages, and the presence 
of even a specific microbe in the sputa nothing more 
than the product of a condition favorable for its produc- 
tion, and as incidental to the disease as a globule of pus. 

SYMPTOMS OF PULMONAEY PHTHISIS. 

We *f requently meet with persons who are predisposed 
to pulmonary phthisis with not only clubbed finger nails, 
but a tendency for a festering soreness to occur around 
them as well as the toe nails. We do not refer to the 
simple run-around which almost any person may have 
for a few days, and then disappear, but a chronic condi- 
tion that often exists for months, if not for years. In all 
such cases we have found the patient to be a member of 
a family predisposed to pulmonary phthisis. Any local 
treatment given with a view to suppress such a condition 
is highly reprehensible, as it is sure to throw it upon the 
lungs, and cause that disease to develop there inside of 
the next two or three years. Other physical signs found 
are a flat chest, round shoulders, and, generally speaking, 
a poorly developed organism. When a severe attack of 
bronchitis, pleurisy or pneumonia is followed by pul- 
monary phthisis, it may seem for a while to be but a 
chronic continuation of the former complaint, and not the 
latter ; but, as it progresses, we find symptoms of the 
last-named disease developing. Usually, this trouble 
comes on slowly, seemingly out of a fair degree of health. 
The first indication is a slight, hacking cough, which may 
continue for years, and during that time be hardly 



SYMPTOMS OF PULMONAKY PHTHISIS. Ill 

noticeable. And, now, notwithstanding the person may 
have a fail* appetite, sleep well, and otherwise appear to 
enjoy a usual degree of health, still in time the face 
loses its plumpness and seems to lengthen out. In this 
stage we find the muscles of the body losing their tone 
and vigor, and beginning- to grow flabby, soft and weak. 
Patients can now hold their breath but a few moments 
at a time, and even then it makes them dizzy and faint. 
It is impossible for them to take fifty steps while so retain- 
ning it at their usual gait of walking. Generally speaking, 
twenty or twenty-five are the very best they can do, while 
many cannot do as well as that. Examination now 
reveals the fact that their breathing is superficial and 
lacking in volume, showing not only a decrease of lung 
force, but a marked loss of vital capacity. They fatigue 
very easily from any unusual exercise, and complain much 
of being weary and tired. At first the cough is dry, but 
later on a sputa makes its appearance, being either a 
clear, transparent mucus, or grayish, yellow, brown, dark, 
stringy, any form of which may be streaked with blood. 
Now — gradually, in most cases, though suddenly in 
others — the patient enters into the second or apex stage. It 
may come on at first, much like a bad cold or an attack of 
bronchitis. The cough and expectoration increase and 
grow worse towards night, or through the night and in 
the morning, with an interval of rest in the middle of the 
day. At first the cheeks are simply flushed, but usually 
in the afternoon or towards evening fever sets in, though 
it may occur at any time during the twenty-four hours, 
the temperature running often as high as one hundred 
and four. If the pleura is implicated in the de- 
structive or inflammatory process, there are severe pains, 
worse from coughing, deep breathing or bodily move- 
ment. A progressive loss of weight is now noticed, often 
accompanied by severe indigestion, constipation, diar- 
rhoea, or both in alternation ; gagging or vomiting when 
coughing, breathing labored, voice weak and uncertain 
or may be entirely suppressed, especially if the larynx 
has become involved in the destructive process. The 
hemorrhagic stage may also set in at any time. To be 



112 NOKMAL AND MORBID CONDITIONS. 

sure, it may set in apparently at the very onset of the 
attack ; but, generally speaking, it is an indication of a 
more advanced stage, since it shows that the exist- 
ing lesion is eating deeper into the cellular tissue. 
Mucus, pus, blood, tubercles and microbes are now- 
found in the sputa; increased temperature, running 
anywhere from one hundred to one hundred and four ; 
severe night sweats, marked emaciation, panting breath, 
painful cough and great prostration. In females, who 
have reached the age of puberty, the menses grow month 
after month more and more scanty, till they finally cease 
altogether. Great nervousness and marked irritability 
often accompanies this disease in any or all its stages. 
This class of patients never cease to hope, and frequently 
declare that they know their complaint is anything but 
consumption. As they enter upon the last stage, all 
the above symptoms become more and more intensified, 
and, as the end is approaching, the feet begin to swell, 
and the vital force has reached such a low ebb that they 
are unable to longer sit up. Distressed breathing occurs, 
with marked wheezing, rattling of mucus, with little or 
no ability to expectorate ; and soon, following a rattling 
in the throat, the scene closes in death. 



PERSONS PREDISPOSED TO PULMONARY 
PHTHISIS. 

We have at least three classes of individuals who are 
predisposed to pulmonary phthisis : 

Fiest. — Those who have been endowed by nature with 
not only a most perfect physique, but a wonderful consti- 
tution. These persons become addicted to all kinds of 
excesses. They are temperate in nothing. They cultivate 
such habits as imbibing all kinds of intoxicating liquors, 
an excessive use of tobacco, drinking strong coffee with 
every meal, as well as partaking of all kinds of condi- 
ments and highly-seasoned foods. They keep late hours, 
seldom sleep enough, and frequent bar-rooms, pool-rooms, 
concert-halls, theatres and ball-rooms, and thus spend 



PERSONS PREDISPOSED TO PULMONARY PHTHISIS. 113 

most of their lives in inhaling air unfit to breathe. Often 
they gamble all night, and attend exciting races by day, 
as well as otherwise living a fast life. Few escape 
venereal diseases, and in their treatment, instead of hav- 
ing them properly cured, they are suppressed. Again, we 
find them either taking little or no exercise, or going to 
extremes of violent training in the way of either box- 
ing, running, rowing or severe gymnastic exertions, fol- 
lowed after the contest by indolence and protracted 
sprees. They live, in fact, the most abnormal kind of a 
life, and it is not to be wondered at that they at length 
break down. They run the race that kills, and as they 
become a wreck in some way contract what at first 
appears to be but a bad cold, or such an inflammatory dis- 
ease as bronchitis or pleurisy, following which pulmonary 
phthisis sets in, runs a quick course, and — dying, as they 
so often do, in the hands of charity — the end of the story 
is told in the morgue. 

Second. — The second class are those who do not dis- 
sipate in any way whatever, and yet, either through ig- 
norance or imprudence, have contracted catarrhal diseases 
of the nostrils, throat, larynx or bronchial tubes. These 
diseases may be of years' standing, and thus, little by little, 
the lung power as well as the vital capacity is reduced, 
or they may continue till finally, following a cold, bron- 
chitis, pleurisy or pneumonia sets in, from which attack 
they never make a good recovery, and thus pulmonary 
phthisis is superinduced. 

Again, members of this class are often employed for 
years in dingy offices where the air is impure, while their 
occupations call for constant stooping. Besides, they take 
little or no out-door exercise, and, as for exercising the 
lungs, many of them could almost truthfully say they 
never heard of such a thing. We very seldom find these 
folks fleshy ; on the contrary, they are usually thin, pale, 
lank and nervous as well as very sensitive to all sudden 
changes in the weather, have poor appetites, and only too 
often are in ill health. "With them pulmonary phthisis 
may be hereditary on neither side of the house, and yet — 
though they do, as is often the case, spring from long- 



114 NORMAL AND MORBID CONDITIONS. 

lived families — they contract that disease, and eventually 
succumb to it. 

Third. — This is the class who are hereditarily disposed 
to pulmonary phthisis. They inherit not only the inher- 
ent weakness of constitution, but the characteristics of 
mind peculiar to their parents. In fact, it is mostly 
in the latter wherein lie, in a great degree, the predis- 
posing causes of pulmonary phthisis. A weak constitu- 
tion, with a strong mind to defend it, will, as we some- 
times see, enable a person whose relatives have had it on 
both sides, to live to a good old age, and not contract it ; 
but where, notwithstanding the one seems to be ener- 
getic and bright, the other is weak, and the person im- 
pulsive, the frail body has a poor defender, and is sure, 
sooner or later, to fall a victim to pulmonary phthisis. 
Generally speaking, there is probably no class of individ- 
uals in this world who are more careless about their 
health, or indifferent to the ordinary rules to be observed 
in order to preserve it, than these delicate mortals. 
Endowed with a fine temperament, they are unusually 
sensitive, mentally as well as physically. They generally 
have bright mental capabilities, which do not, by any 
means, imply good judgment or wisdom. They are 
quick — do first, and think afterwards. This leads them 
to do all sorts of imprudent things, such as going out in 
the height of winter without a wrap on, and, maybe, 
with slippers only on their feet. They have no respect 
for a draught, except that they know it will help them to 
cool off rapidly when overheated. Standing in the open 
doorway, gossiping with some long-winded female caller, on 
the many foolish shortcomings of their neighbors, is not an 
infrequent pastime. "We also find them frequently going 
to balls and parties, and not only exhausting their vital- 
ity by dancing all night, but, after each dance, exposing 
themselves to a cold draught while perspiring ; and often, 
the more delicate the female is, the more indifferent is 
she to the probability of contracting a bad cold. They 
seem far more sensitive to social criticism regarding their 
appearance than they do to climatic conditions that en- 
viron their lives ; hence, they dress as though they were 



NATURE. 115 

endowed with an iron constitution. And now, if they are 
not wrapped up extremely warm, and driven home quickly 
in a closed carriage, the probabilities are they will be 
down inside of a few days with a severe cold. One such 
night may be sufficient; if not, the time will surely 
come when they will contract their last cold. Then, again, 
how often they are to be found standing on the corner 
of the street waiting for the early morning car; and 
often the car and the beginning of pulmonary phthisis 
come together. It required but a night of vital exhaus- 
tion, with their underclothing damp with perspiration, 
feet clothed in thin stockings and covered with light 
shoes, and the entire system in an extremely negative 
state to give their hereditary enemy another victim. 



NATURAL METHODS. 

NATUBE. 

Many people have an ignorant conception of what is 
meant by nature when a cure is proposed by natural 
methods. They jump at the conclusion that it means to 
do nothing, let the disease have full sway, and live or die 
as the case may be. This is far from the truth. What 
we mean by it is to resort to natural means instead 
of artificial ones to overcome disease. In your case 
ascertain what the laws of nature are that have a 
bearing on it, and, instead of hanging your hope on some 
experimental decoction of drugs, determine to utilize 
its great powers and forces in your own defense. Know- 
ing, for instance, that constant use develops the faculties 
of the mind as well as the muscles of the physical 
organism, you realize that exercise of the lungs must be 
resorted to to make them powerful. You know that 
exercise calls for more blood to the part, or parts, 
used, and that it likewise contains nourishment for the 
whole organism. Hence, as you wish to nourish your 
lungs, and thereby build them up, you realize that noth- 
ing in this eternal universe but exercise can accomplish 



116 NATURAL METHODS. 

the desired result. You know, also, that through it only 
can a part be given strength and power; and, hence, 
in order to have strong lungs, you must exercise them. 
You comprehend that you are not experimenting, but 
rather, in fact, arousing to activity and waking up the 
gigantic powers that lie dormant in your organism, 
and that, by will effort, you are subjugating them to your 
service. No ! never think, when we refer to nature, we 
mean to do nothing ; for, on the contrary, the more you 
know of her, and the more you utilize her forces, the 
more work it requires of you. 

The real " do nothings " are those who sit and mope 
and swig drugs at certain intervals, whose judgment is 
governed by whims, and whose hope is of the sky-rocket 
order — always bright until it goes out forever. Nature 
is your mother ; obey her voice, sit at her feet, and learn 
wisdom. There is balm in Gilead in her injunction. 
Listen and be wise. Go as she points the way. Turn 
not from her to the hope of windy theories that have 
lured so many of the world's billions till the wreck of 
death came. 

THE EDUCATION OF THE INVOLUNTAKY 
THKOUGH THE VOLUNTAEY. 

Education practically means exercise or voluntary 
effort by which we are enabled to reach the involuntary. 
There can, indeed, be no great degree of perfection till 
effort ceases and the voluntary gives place to the involun- 
tary. Thus, if we would be intelligent, we must use our 
intellect so that the senses can be educated by work 
to such an extent as to enable us to see, hear, taste and 
touch with such a degree of nicety and precision as to 
make any one of these acts, to all intents and purposes, 
involuntary. It is apparent, then, that the strength and 
power attained by the involuntary is really but a product 
of the voluntary. In the blind we see the sense of touch, 
for instance, cultivated to a marvelous degree of perfec- 
tion, while, in the study of music, those who are highly 
educated in it are able to detect a false note or discord 



THE EDUCATION OF VOLUNTARY THROUGH INVOLUNTARY. 117 

among ten thousand harmonies — an attainment only 
reached by long, laborious voluntary effort. Even taste 
by use may be educated to such a degree of nicety as to 
enable persons to detect readily between such different 
commodities as teas, liquors., wines, etc., for the mere 
exercise of which they receive very high salaries. As for 
sight, its power can be increased in a number of ways, 
notably to make it possible for a person to fire a single 
bullet from a rifle and hit a nickel flipped from the 
thumb into the air — a feat requiring, however, years of 
voluntary practice. The same is equally true of any of 
the faculties, for, if we would develop any one of them 
like the memory, it must be exercised indefinitely till we 
find we can memorize with less and less effort, it becom- 
ing, at length, almost infinite in its powers to grasp and 
retain the details of an intricate subject, apparently with- 
out effort. Even manners may be highly cultivated by 
constant use, till what at first, would appear to be formal 
and unnatural will in time become graceful, involun- 
tary gentility. A person can also educate his moral 
faculties in the same way. Let him, even though it 
requires a decided effort for him, to do right and so 
continue, and in time he will find the effort has departed 
and it has become as it were a second nature to him. On 
the other hand, he can just as successfully develop low 
tastes and traits of character by allowing himself to in- 
dulge in dissipations, till, at length, he will find his 
inclinations involuntarily directed in that way. So, in the 
simple matter of standing erect, if a person is at first 
obliged to actually hold himself in the proper position 
and persists in it, in time he will really have grown 
into it, and be enabled to stand upright without the least 
effort. This not only applies to the whole body, but to 
any part of it, such as an organ or its function. We 
realize fully how effectually any weak muscle of the 
system can be developed by exercise, and great strength 
thus attained. It is evident, then, inasmuch as the lungs 
are a part of the system — cellular in structure, like a 
muscle built up in the same manner by nutriment from 
the circulation, and in a like way subject to the com- 



118 NATURAL METHODS. 

mand of the will — that they, too, can by proper exercise 
be developed to their maximum capacity, and thus be 
made to supply the whole system at all times, whether 
awake or asleep, with all the oxygen necessary for its 
most perfect state of health, and accomplish it even more 
perfectly in an involuntary manner than what, at first, 
could only be partially acquired by voluntary effort. 
That the involuntary can be educated through the volun- 
tary is too obvious for comment, and we only refer to it 
in this way as it emphasizes the necessity of exercise 
in lung healing and lung development. The will is the 
starting point, exercise it, and it will be found that even 
that can be made stronger and stronger by use. Cul- 
tivate tenacity of purpose, and coimt not on good inten- 
tions, but let work and work only be the true expression 
of your force of character. If you have a will of power 
and endurance, it is the struggle of a long race that 
makes it show forth conspicuously. Don't be spasmodic 
in this matter, for to just the degree that you are will 
it be the measure of your disappointment. 

THE PHILOSOPHY OF EXERCISE. 

If you were to call on your physician for advice con- 
cerning the development of your muscular system, and 
he were to reply to your inquiries that he would give you 
a hypodermic injection of a lymph that would accom- 
plish that desired result, and that all exercise was super- 
fluous, you would at once not only doubt his judgment, 
but consider him, if not an actual lunatic, at least bor- 
dering on insanity. You would say, " I am no physician, 
but I know that it requires exercise to develop any 
muscle of the human organism. " On the contrary, 
should he not have said in answer to your queries that 
as all things in nature are in a state of activity from the 
smallest atom of material matter upon this earth up to 
the most gigantic planet that rolls across the heavens, 
from the lowest form of vegetable or animal life up to 
that of the will, mind and physique of man, that you 
must likewise, if you would develop your muscular sys- 



THE PHILOSOPHY OF EXERCISE. 119 

teni, conform to that great and universal law, and resort 
to exercise to accomplish your purpose. 

Attune your endeavors by exercise and work to this 
all-pervading law of motion that holds its sway not only 
over the countless myriads of planets that constitute 
the Milky Way, but the innumerable billions of atoms 
that make up the organic elements of your muscular sys- 
tem, and you will indeed be successful, since there can 
be no growth, either mentally or physically, outside of the 
realms of exercise. Motion is the great law of our 
being ; without it we would have no senses, faculties or 
even life itself. Mental excellence requires that your 
faculties be exercised. So, in like manner, there is no 
other power in this universe that can give you a superbly 
developed muscular system. But persist in it, and you 
will grow in strength, power, and eventually a perfect 
physical manhood will be the sum total. But be a lag- 
gard — ride when you should walk, sit when you should 
stand, sleep when you should be awake ; in fact, be lazy 
and languid, and show it in your step and speech, as 
well as in your whole being — and your muscular system 
will never develop. Be the hero of your own egotistical 
dreams rather than a man of deeds, and you may rest 
assured that, as long as life lasts, your muscular system 
will remain soft and flabby, and you will never be, physi- 
cally speaking, a well-developed man, according to the 
high designs of nature. Exercise and use make perfect. 
Now, all this is just as applicable to the development of 
the lungs as it is to that of the muscular system. As 
those muscles have lost not only their vital force, other- 
wise called " strength," but their capacity to hold that 
power in the way of a shrinkage of their cellular struct- 
ure, so likewise have your lungs lost not only their vital 
capacity to breathe the requisite amount of air nec- 
essary for the normal health of your whole organism, 
but they have lost through shrinkage of their cellular 
structure their storage capacity for vital force. 

Even suppose drugs or an injection of lymph were to 
kill microbes present in the diseased lungs, how could 
they ever restore the cellular structure of the lungs to a 



120 NATURAL METHODS. 

capacity that would enable them to absorb the requisite 
amount of oxygen to supply the entire wants of your sys- 
tem? Suppose there was a loss of two-tenths of vital 
capacity, how could any possible destruction of the mi- 
crobes restore it? Even though the lesions were to heal 
up — a thing utterly impossible under the circumstances — 
how could that break up the pleuritic adhesions, develop 
the intercostal muscles or diaphragm, especially when we 
know that the healing up of a lesion, even in the lungs, 
causes a contraction, and not an expansion, of the tissue 
involved ? Would not such a result diminish rather than 
increase the vital capacity of the lungs ? "What other 
way is there out of this labyrinth of troubles but exercise 
of the tissue of the lungs, as it is healing ? And since the 
act of respiration involves the intercostal muscles and the 
diaphragm, how could the injection of lymph, use of a 
drug or healing up of a lesion possibly develop them, 
when not properly exercised, any more than any other 
part of the general muscular system ? As for the cellu- 
lar tissue of the lungs themselves, we have seen that it 
is made up of cells just as is the muscular system, and 
that they contain yellow elastic tissue made for the express 
purpose of expansion and contraction. Why, then, is exer- 
cise necessary for the development of the cellular tissue of 
the biceps, and lymph for the cellular tissue of the lungs ? 
The function of memcry and that of the lungs are both 
under control of the will — why not exercise the one as 
well as the other ? Just as well think of educating the 
artistic faculty for painting by taking drugs as to try to 
develop those organs by their action. 

As it is, the great harm is not done by them alone, but 
in the dependency placed upon them. Certain kinds of 
medication are a necessity as one of the many auxiliary 
aids, but only as such, and never to be taken as the sole 
reliance. All other things being equal, lung exercise for 
a loss of lung power and capacity becomes a funda- 
mental necessity for pulmonary troubles. Exercise of 
them means use of the entire thorax and diaphragm, the 
whole cellular tissue of the lungs and pleura, every in- 
dividual air cell, blood vessel and nerve that it supplies, 



BREATHING IN GENERAL. 121 

as well as all the lacteals within them. By doing so, we 
find as the muscular system strengthens by exercise, so 
will the vital lung force and capacity of the lungs grow 
stronger and greater as a result. There is this difference, 
however: loss of vital force antedates loss of vital ca- 
pacity, but a gain of vital capacity must always precede 
a permanent gain of vital force. , It may be said that it 
requires vital force to bring about a gain of vital capac- 
ity, which is true ; yet the vital force used for the de- 
velopment of vital capacity is directed to the lungs from 
the general system by the will power, and not till there 
is a permanent gain of vital capacity will there be a per- 
manent gain of vital force in the lungs themselves. 

BREATHING IN GENERAL. 

Life is so dependent on the air we breathe that, if it 
be suspended for even a few minutes, death invariably 
follows. Eighteen breaths per minute are the number 
generally considered normal, or twenty-three thousand 
and forty inhalations in twenty-four hours. This we hold to 
be too frequent, as ten times per minute are sufficient, 
since practice and lung development will enable most 
any person to inhale not more than that number. 
Breathing is subject to great variations. In all inflam- 
matory diseases that cause a marked increase in the tem- 
perature of the body, and a consequent rapid circulation 
of blood, we find a corresponding increase in its fre- 
quency. Thus, in pneumonia, it always is panting in 
character, reaching in frequency as high as eighty times 
per minute. In all diseases of the respiratory organs we 
have an increase in the number of respirations per 
minute, though usually accompanied by a loss in volume. 
On the other hand, in all cases of suspended animation, 
from whatever cause, such as drowning, catalepsy, com- 
pression, shock, coma and fainting attacks, we have not 
only a decrease in their frequency, but such a decided 
loss in volume as to make it almost imperceptible. 
It, moreover, varies greatly in accordance with the 
degree of physical exercise taken, always increasing in 



122 NATURAL METHODS. 

frequency and volume as the former becomes more vio- 
lent. Also, when sleep follows great fatigue, respira- 
tion is not only more frequent for a time, but there is 
likewise an increase in the volume of each breath. This 
is particularly noticeable in healthy tired persons who 
snore when asleep. When a person's general health is 
below the standard, the breath, whether quick or slow, 
lacks in volume. The more rarefied the air, the more 
frequently we breathe. We inspire with every breath 
about twenty cubic inches of air; multiply this by the 
number of respirations per minute, and the increase 
occasioned by exercise, and it will be found that we 
inhale not far from six hundred thousand cubic inches of 
air in twenty-four hours, or about three hundred and 
fifty cubic feet. The respiratory movements are mostly 
involuntary — that is, while we can control our breathing 
in a measure, both as to rapidity and volume, we cannot 
wholly suppress it. In fact, the nearest that we approach 
it is when holding our breath — and then only in excep- 
tional cases for about the space of three minutes — at the 
utmost limit. Usually, from twenty-five to thirty seconds 
is the best that can be done, though, as we shall see 
further on, that persistent exercise will enable a person to 
retain it even as long as three minutes at a time. While 
the natural breath is involuntary, when we desire to take 
a full or maximum one it must be partially voluntary ; 
and since that is not only necessary when we wish 
to measure our maximum lung capacity, but also in many 
of our lung exercises for lung healing and lung develop- 
ment, we designate them to be the natural, or involuntary 
breath, and the maximum, or voluntary one. When our 
respirations are but ten per minute, as we advocate, 
then we inhale all of fifty cubic inches of air with 
every breath, and, making the usual allowance for 
increased breathing from exercise during the day, about 
eight hundred thousand cubic inches of air, or all of two 
hundred thousand above the amount when eighteen 
breaths were taken instead of ten. An increase in this 
way for but one month would mean to the system a gain 
of no less than six million cubic inches — a splendid result. 



CHEST EXPANSION POSITION FOR LUNG DEVELOPMENT. 123 

CHEST EXPANSION. 

Concerning the chest we have two positions — the 
normal and the abnormal, or the voluntary and the in- 
voluntary. The normal one when it is distended to its 
fullest extent in such a manner as to permit a full and 
free maximum expansion of the thorax. Abnormal when 
the shoulders are drawn forward till they crowd the 
upper part of each lung, thereby preventing an unre- 
stricted use of them. By throwing the chest out, and 
holding it there voluntarily, involuntary breathing goes on 
just the same as before, only the volume of each breath 
is not only greater but far more easily inhaled. This 
adds very materially to both lung healing and lung de- 
velopment, since any increase in involuntary breathing in 
this manner means an increase of thousands upon thou- 
sands of cubic inches of air a day. So, aside from the 
general appearance, the erect position with chest well 
expanded is a great and positive necessity both for lung 
healing and lung development. 

POSITION FOR LUNG DEVELOPMENT. 

When a person has some experience in the matter of 
selecting a horse with a view to making a purchase, he 
usually looks for one that stands plumb, though frequently 
at the very time of his close inspection he may not be 
standing so himself. If he finds one that suits him 
in that respect, even though a mouth-breather himself, 
he next examines his nostrils, and if they are large and 
well developed, chest broad and full, other things being 
equal, he takes him. Now, this matter of standing erect 
applies to man as well as to animals. When a horse puts 
his feet too far under him or too far out, he is gen- 
erally designated a " plug." So, when a person stands out 
of line, he assumes the "plug" position, which is not 
only ungainly in appearance, but every organ in his body 
— lungs included — is out of plumb, a condition always fa- 
vorable to disease. And the difference between a "plug " 
and a good horse is no greater than that between a 



124 NATUEAL METHODS. 

sound man and one who stands out of plumb, for it shows 
that he is not perfect. In all forms of animal life — 
whether fish, bird, or land quadruped — they are, when not 
injured or diseased, graceful in every movement. The 
same is equally true of man ; so, when we see a person 
standing out of plumb, we know for a certainty that 
he lacks full vigor. He may by no means in every 
instance be sickly, yet he does not possess the maximum 
degree of bodily health and strength that he otherwise 
would if he stood erect, and the carriage of his body 
was graceful. Then hold your head up in such a manner 
that you will feel a slight backward pressure at the angles 
of the jaws, especially if you have hitherto stooped or car- 
ried it too far forward. Next throw the chest out 
by voluntary effort, if need be, and hold it there with a 
rim ; never mind the shoulders, they will go back into their 
right position. But don't fall into the error of sticking 
the abdomen out, and imagine that you are standing 
properly. This, we might justly term, " amusing n position 
causes too great a curve in the spinal column, and, while 
badly out of plumb, may also prove to be very harmful 
to, the whole body. Stand with your heels almost touch- 
ing and the toes turning out from each other about 
seven inches. The lips and end of the toes should be in 
line with each other. You are never standing light 
when the weight of the body is thrown on the heels. It 
should be more upon the ball of the foot, so that when 
you take a step forward the weight of the whole organism 
follows after with ease and grace. 

THE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF HOLDING 
THE BREATH AS AN EXERCISE. 

The effects of holding the breath in exercising 
the lungs is a very interesting study, as well as a 
most potent remedy, in lung healing and lung develop- 
ment. It may be argued that, when a maximum breath 
is inhaled and retained as long as possible, it can never 
be heated to a greater degree than the general heat of 
the whole system, and so nothing could be gained by 



HOLDING THE BREATH AS AN EXERCISE. 125 

way of expansion in that manner, since, like the normal 
breath, it is heated to correspond to the residual air in 
the lungs, which is always of the same temperature as 
the entire organism. 

Still, the normal breathing of eighteen cubic inches 
per breath is, as an exercise, not to be compared to the 
maximum breath, even in diseased lungs of one hundred 
and eighty cubic inches, or one to ten, on an average. 
The former is heated when taken into the lungs, so is 
the latter ; yet it requires ten times as much caloric of 
the body to heat the latter as it did of the former, 
giving it, as a consequence, ten times the expansive power 
of the former, not only in volume, but in heat, after it 
has been retained. It therefore has, as far as the latter 
can effect it, ten times the penetrating power into clogged- 
up air cells, as well as expansive capacity, when it reaches 
them. It does not act upon any special part of the lung, 
but, like hydraulic pressure, finds each individual cell, 
and distends it in every possible direction. Another 
very important action of the inhaled maximum breath, 
when retained, is that it greatly facilitates the passage of 
oxygen through the walls of the air cells into the circu- 
lation, as well as greatly aiding the exit of the carbonic 
acid from the blood into the lungs. The so-called invol- 
untary circulation of gases is thus made much easier, not 
only at the time the exercise is taken, but afterwards, 
when ordinary respiration is going on. 

Again, though holding the breath for the time being 
may retard the carbonic acid from escaping from the 
blood into the lungs, when it is finally exhaled, its 
gathered volume in the circulation enables it to make its 
exit in large quantities, thus aiding the development of 
an easy exchange of these gases on the theory that the 
passage ways are enlarged or dilated. The inhaled and 
retained breath also acts very beneficially in the following 
manner : As the circulation in the blood vessels is slightly 
retarded, the latter become distended, and so mate- 
rially increase their capacity to receive and carry a 
larger volume of blood from the general circulation. It 
is, indeed, a fact that this exercise will cause a uniform 



126 NATURAL METHODS. 

increase in calibre of every blood vessel in the whole 
lung structure, and, if practiced long enough, they will 
become permanently enlarged, and, as a result, their 
increased capacity for receiving blood enables the tissue 
they supply to receive a much larger quantity, a point 
always to be gained in the cure of pulmonary phthisis. 
Yet, again, as high tide carries off driftwood and garb- 
age, so, when we thus flood the lung tissue with blood by 
retaining the breath, it likewise carries off the effete matter 
that has a tendency to accumulate and retard the capil- 
lary circulation in the walls of the air cells. Even where 
a lesion is already existing, or a tuberculous mass has 
formed the flooding of adjacent healthy lung tissue, in 
this manner will help to not only carry off matter that 
may come from it, but will aid in keeping those parts 
in a healthy condition, and so enable them eventually, by 
the renewed strength and vigor it gives to the lacteals, to 
absorb the mass itself and heal up the ulceration. That 
this can be accomplished is a fact, as the following illus- 
tration proves : When a person is suffering from a felon 
on his finger, if he takes a piece of string and winds it 
tightly and carefully around the adjoining healthy tissue 
about twenty-five times, and allows it to remain there for 
the space of a minute, he will find that this procedure 
retards the capillary circulation, while the deeper or 
arterial current will still continue, until all the minute 
vessels implicated in the diseased parts become greatly 
engorged with blood, causing high tide in them. If the 
string is next unwound, and the accumulated blood be 
allowed to run off, and the process is repeated for the 
space of thirty minutes, the pain will not only stop, 
but the inflammation subside, and all indications of any 
further accumulation of pus cease, thus showing that, by 
flooding the part with blood, effete matter can be carried 
off/ and health restored to the diseased tissue. Thus, 
when healing is required in all inflammations, whether 
acute or chronic, a flux of blood to the parts is indispensible. 
Also, in all indolent forms of disease, like tuberculosis, 
since the tissues involved lack the necessary volume of it. 
Indeed, in pulmonary phthisis, we never find the inflam- 



X.UNG nEALING. 127 

matory process as severe as in pneumonia and other 
kindred diseases that are curable. There is a greater 
quantity of blood present in those complaints, and, as a 
result, the chances of recovery are correspondingly 
better. The necessity of a greater supply of blood 
through the diseased lungs is apparent, otherwise the 
disease can never be eradicated ; and holding the breath 
as an exercise will aid materially in concentrating it 
there. 

LUNG HEALING. 

While your lungs are diseased we advise you to live 
an out-door life, and not indulge in bodily exercise. By 
so doing, you will be in the light, sunshine and pure air 
a greater part of the time. By not exerting your ex- 
tremities, you will cause an entire relaxation of the mus- 
cular system, and thus enable the most of your vital force 
to be used to heal and strengthen your lungs. This force 
is, as we have before pointed out, like any other motive 
power — such as steam or electricity — and so, if used to 
any great degree in one direction, cannot at the same 
time be utilized in another. Thus, if the greater amount 
of this power is expended for locomotion, then the organs 
of the body, and especially the diseased lungs, are easily 
depleted, and the patient becomes exhausted. Practical 
experience proves this to be a fact. In most cases that 
we have seen, where a phthisical patient was taken sud- 
denly and alarmingly ill, the immediate cause of attack 
was invariably produced by a long, tiresome ride or some 
fatiguing exercise. This leads us to insist that all bodily 
and mental activity of any description but what we rec- 
ommend in the way of lung exercise shall be discon- 
tinued ; at least, while the lungs are badly diseased. Even 
if your physician advises you to take plenty of out-door 
exercise, you should not do it, for he is mistaken in the 
matter. " That old stereotyped advice is simply an heir- 
loom handed down to the profession, and so is still given 
to patients without thought in the matter. If your 
doctor were to make a special study of this subject, he 



128 NATURAL METHODS. 

would soon see his error, and promptly admit it. Indeed, 
most of them do not mean what they say when they 
advise their patients to take plenty of out-door exercise. 
They generally mean that they shall simply live in the open 
air as much as possible, and exercise in a moderate way. 
Patients, however, generally take such advice in the 
most literal manner imaginable, and so when they are told 
to take plenty of outdoor exercise they do it, and only too 
often with fatal results. Indeed, it is the worst possible 
advice that could be given to them, and we sincerely hope 
that in the near future it will be entirely discontinued. 
On the other hand, however, lung exercise is absolutely 
necessary. Our aim is to make the greater part of the 
organism negative, and the lungs positive. This will en- 
able us to reverse the condition when by great bodily 
exercise the general organism is positive, and the lungs 
negative. Make the latter strong, and they will not 
only repel all abnormal vibrations thrown upon them by 
the brain as part of the general system, but it will give 
more vital force to their organic cellular tissue to attract 
nutriment from the circulation, which diseased lungs 
always fail to do in a measure sufficient to replace 
the loss of organic material required for their recon- 
struction. When a person is physically weak, his step is 
tottering, so with the lungs when they are diseased, the 
breath is feeble, quick and superficial. This is occa- 
sioned, not only by the lungs alone, but by the diaphragm 
and the whole thorax, which partake of the weakness 
of the entire body. All these parts must then be 
strengthened, in order to give the breath the volume 
required in health. Concerning the slight attention that 
is given, we might say almost universally, to lung exer- 
cise, the thought comes to us forcibly. Is this not the rea- 
son that so little has been accomplished by the profession 
in the cure of pulmonary phthisis ! How frequently we 
meet patients who, when in the incipient stage of this 
disease, work hard for ten hours during the day, and 
then take their entire earnings for that time, and give it 
to a doctor, who will simply examine their lungs and pre- 
scribe some one of the " old chestnut " remedies, such as 



LUNG HEALING 129 

cod-liver oil, that have been taken by millions of phthisi- 
cal patients before them, and yet, undoubtedly, never 
cured a single case of that disease, and not even mention 
the words "lung exercise," while it does not occur to the 
patient that such a thing was at all necessary. Occa- 
sionally we meet with those who now and then exercise 
their lungs by taking a few deep breaths off and on for a 
day or two, and not resort to it again for perhaps a 
month. They are well aware that no faculty of the brain 
or muscle of the body can be developed without incessant 
endeavor, and yet never think of applying the same prin- 
ciple to their lungs even when very weak or diseased. 
In the matter, then, of lung healing, the exercises that are 
given in the following chapter must be taken every day 
without a single omission, if need be, from one end of 
the year to the other. Even if the patient is in a condi- 
tion that would warrant his remaining in bed, they should 
be continued just the same, for most of them can be taken 
there as well as elsewhere. Anything in the way of 
spasmodic attempts is too contemptible to be regarded 
as serious work. Do not say either that you have tried 
them occasionally, and then express disappointment be- 
cause great good has not come at once from your in- 
different efforts. Just here we want to emphasize the 
earnestness of our convictions, and say that, if all persons 
who are hereditarily predisposed to pulmonary phthisis 
as well as those in its incipient stage live a normal life 
and take our lung exercises, it will be about abso- 
lutely impossible for the first to contract that dis- 
ease, as well as enable the others to ward it off. 
For lung healing, they should be much more gentle 
than for lung development. To be sure, even in the 
former, there will be a marked degree of lung expan- 
sion, but it would not be wise to indulge diseased lungs 
in the severe exercises we give under the heading of lung 
development. You should understand that your lungs 
are not a football that you can blow up to their maximum 
capacity off-handed. The mere inflating of them in 
their present condition will not suffice in the way of exer- 
cise. They are, as you should know, really incased in a 



130 NATURAL METHODS. 

structure of bone and muscle, and, though it can be 
greatly increased in size, it will never do so with- 
out a decided effort is made in that direction. Now, 
this structure known as the " thorax " must be made to 
expand to its utmost limits when lung healing is desired. 
The diaphragm, being a muscle, must also be developed 
to the extent of its capacity, since normal involuntary 
breathing depends on a good development of that organ. 
As for the organic cellular structure of the lungs, it 
must be exercised in order that it receive the necessary 
increased circulation of blood and nutriment. And, as 
cell after cell is added to it, vital force and capacity will 
correspondingly increase. The lacteals must likewise be 
strengthened in order that a normal degree of absorption 
of such effete matter (as the tuberculous mass) can readily 
take place. This is work laid out for you to do, and it is 
by no means as hard to accomplish as it may seem, if you 
only have an inflexible will to hold you to it. Exercise 
really means cell building. Your purpose is then, to add 
a few million of them to the organic tissue of your lung 
structure. Of course, you must content yourself with 
adding a few at a time. And by taking our advice you 
may know for a certainty that you are doing so. We have 
pointed out to you that, by a continuous relaxed condi- 
tion of the muscular system and brain, that they become 
more and more negative, while such organs as the lungs 
become, when exercised, more and more positive. This 
enables them to repel all positive abnormal vibrations 
reflexed upon them by the brain. When not thrown 
upon the lung, the general system receives them, either 
in one direction or the other. As a result, if boils, or any 
kind of skin disease whatever make their appearance, 
they are to be regarded as a good omen, and under no 
circumstances are to be suppressed by external treat- 
ment. Even if swelling of the glands occurs on any part 
of the body, or rheumatism, neuralgia, shifting pains, 
and, in fact, quite a variety of functional disturbances 
set in, you are to welcome them as a good rather than a 
bad sign, showing, as they do, that the lungs are becom- 
ing more positive, and the general organism more nega- 



EXERCISES FOR LUNG HEALING. 131 

tive. All breathing exercises act upon the lungs, yet 
some are more marked in one direction than another. 
Now, while taking the following ones keep the mus- 
cular system in as relaxed a state as possible, either by 
sitting or lying down. If any of them make you dizzy, 
cause stitching pains or cough during the act, do not let 
it worry you, since it merely reaches the seat of the 
troub]e, and will do no possible harm. Should any 
seem to be a little severe on you at first, then, for the 
time being, take those that are more agreeable, and go 
back to the others later on. 

EXEKCISES FOE LUNG HEALING. 

How to Increase the Vital Force of the Diaphragm. 

Since there could be no breathing without the dia- 
phragm, it is evident that, if its action is weak, the 
breath will lack in power and volume. When such a 
condition is present, and we wish to overcome it, there is 
only one way to accomplish our purpose, and that is by 
exercise. Being a muscle, we know for a fact that it 
can be made strong by use. And, as development of this 
muscle will increase the volume of the involuntary 
breath, we can readily see that, in the matter of lung 
healing and lung development, it is a matter of the high- 
est importance. 

Exercise I. 

Distend abdomen to its fullest extent. This de- 
presses the diaphragm. Hold it down as long as possible 
by taking almost imperceptible breaths. Beat abdo- 
men gently while distended with palm of hand. 

Exercise II. 

Work abdomen up and down, simulating the churn- 
ing movement by distending and contracting to utmost 
limit. 



132 NATURAL METHODS. 

Exercise III. 

Contract abdomen. This will hold the diaphragm up. 
While there take almost imperceptible breaths. 

Exercise IV. 

If little action of the diaphragm is perceptible when 
breathing, lay the hands over the stomach and press in 
as the diaphragm rises ; then let it come down suddenly. 

Exercise V. 

To Aid Expansion of Thorax. 

Stand erect, elbows akimbo ; raise shoulders as 
high as possible, and hold them there. Contract abdo- 
men, and then bend forward, back; also sideways, right 
to left, and left to right. Kepeat rapidly. 

Exercise VI. 

Distend abdomen to its fullest extent. Extend 
hands as far above the head as possible. In this posi- 
tion, holding abdomen still distended, bend forward and 
back ; also, from side to side. 

Exercise VII. 

For Lateral Expansion of Thorax. 

Take maximum breath and retain it ; then contract 
abdomen, and, while holding one hand as far above the 
head as possible, reach down as far as possible with the 
other. Now, lower the upraised hand, and ' raise the 
lowered one. Alternate rapidly. 

Exercise VIII. 

Sit astride a chair with back facing you. Grasp its 
sides, and, as you draw yourself towards it with the 



EXERCISES FOR LUNG HEALING. 133 

strength of your arms, take a deep breath and extend 
the chest outwards and upwards to its fullest extent. 
Repeat as though you were rowing. 

Exercise IX. 

Take maximum breath and distend abdomen to its 
fullest extent. Extend hands above head, and stretch 
in all directions, the same as when just aroused from 
sleep. 

Exercise X. 

For Apex of Lungs. 

Strike right closed fist over left shoulder as far as 
you can reach. As you bring it back, strike elbow as far 
backwards as possible. Same with left closed fist over 
right shoulder. Repeat rapidly. 

Exercise XI. 

Take maximum breath, contract abdomen. Strike 
right closed fist over left shoulder, and at the same time 
strike left closed fist as far behind your back as possible. 
Reverse left closed fist over right shoulder, and right 
closed fist behind. Repeat rapidly. 

Exercise XII. 

Take maximum breath and hold it. Contract abdo- 
men. Raise shoulders as high as possible ; then, as you 
suddenly let your breath go, drop your shoulders as far 
down as possible. 

Exercise XIII. 

Interlock fingers of both hands, and lay them with 
the palms down over the stomach ; the arms drawn in till 
they hug the sides tightly, so as to not only prevent the 



134 NATURAL METHODS. 

descent of the diaphragm, but the expansion of the front 
part of the thorax. Now take a deep breath and hold it. 

Exercise XIV. 

Take maximum breath, contract abdomen, strike 
both closed fists as far above your head as you can reach ; 
then bring them down suddenly till your fists are on a 
level with your shoulders. 

Exercise XV. 

Lie flat on your back, contract abdomen, and take 
maximum breath. 

Exercise XVI. 

Lie flat on your back, contract abdomen to fullest 
extent, take maximum breath, hold it for a few moments, 
then let it go suddenly. 

Exercise XVII. 

To Force Breath into Either Lung as Desired. 

If left lung, place right foot on an elevation at least three 
feet high ; then lean heavily on the right knee as elevated, 
winding right arm around it. This position will prevent 
expansion of right lung, and, as you take a maximum 
breath and hold it, it will force the greater part of the 
air into left lung. For right lung reverse position. 

Exercise XVIII. 

Lie on well side and take maximum breath for a 5ew 
minutes at a time. Repeat at intervals during the day. 
This exercise forces air into diseased or weakened lung. 



GENERAL EXERCISES FOR THE LUNGS. 135 

Exercise XIX. 

To Give Vital Force to the Lungs. 

As you exhale your breath to the utmost limits, bow 
low, then suddenly assume erect position. This will 
cause the air to rush into the lungs suddenly, and help 
to develop their resisting power. Kepeat slowly or rap- 
idly, as condition will permit. 

Exercise XX. 

Place the right hand on the right side of the ribs, 
left hand on the left side of ribs. Now, as you inhale 
maximum breath, press in steadily with both hands, as 
though trying to prevent the thorax from expanding. 

Exercise XXI. 

Take a maximum breath, and, as you inhale, beat 
both of your sides with your arms, like a bird beating its 
sides with its wings. Also strike the thorax all over 
with the flat of the hand or shut fist as far as you can 
reach in all directions. 

GENERAL EXERCISES FOR THE LUNGS. 
Exercise XXII. 

Breathe slowly — not more than ten times per minute — 
leaving a slight interval of rest between each of them. 
This can easily be accomplished by taking an ordinary 
breath, and holding it, not with any effort, but as though 
it were a natural period of rest between each breath. By 
doing so, you will find that the next one you take will 
be perceptibly deeper and greater in volume, notwith- 
standing it is involuntary. Don't make hard work of it. 
Rather let it be as natural as possible. Breathing in this 
manner should be practiced almost continually until you 
find you can accomplish it without effort. 



136 NATURAL METHODS. 

Exercise XXHI. 

Begin before you get up in the morning, and take 
ten maximum breaths. Inhale and exhale slowly. Re- 
peat every hour during the day. 

Exercise XXIV. 

Inhale breath to its maximum capacity, shut mouth 
tight, hold nose with thumb and finger. Now try to 
exhale. Be seated when taking this exercise, as it may 
make you dizzy. Don't mind it if it does. This is a 
splendid exercise for the apex of the lungs, the bronchial 
tubes, larynx and nostrils. 

Exercise XXV. 

Exhale breath to maximum degree, contract abdo- 
men, mouth close, hold nostrils tightly shut with thumb 
and finger. Now force diaphragm down, as if taking 
a deep breath, to its utmost limit. The object of this 
exercise is to cause contraction of the healthy tissue all 
around the diseased portion. Thus, as the contraction 
takes place in all directions, it draws on the diseased 
parts, and opens clogged-up cells into which air enters. 
As the diaphragm descends, it causes a suction-like 
action upon those cells, and draws the air out, thus 
facilitating the expulsion of mucus and pus, prevents 
cough, and aids expectoration. Even if it makes you 
cough, it is all right, for it shows that the exercise goes 
to the right spot. 

LUNG DEVELOPMENT. 

Realizing the long train of ills and the sad ending 
that is sure to follow the loss of vital force and capacity, 
you, if wise in your own defense, should desire to avoid 
such a terrible experience. If you are young and keenly 
comprehend all this, you must see the positive necessity 
of lung development. If so, you have it in your power 



LUNG DEVELOPMENT. 137 

to improve them to any extent or degree up to the point 
of maximum development itself. By so doing, it will 
make it practically impossible for you to contract pul- 
monary phthisis, whether it be hereditary or not. It will, 
moreover, strengthen your respiratory organs, minimizing 
the liability of contracting laryngitis, bronchitis, pneu- 
monia, pleurisy, as well as catching the general run of 
colds that weak-lunged people seemingly take without 
any provocation whatever. And even when you do, if 
these organs are strong and vigorous, the reaction will 
be all the more prompt, and the attack thrown off with 
ease. It will, also, help you in many other ways, for 
your voice will not only be stronger, but your carriage 
will be more erect ; you will be more graceful, self-pos- 
sessed, better looking in all respects, develop into man- 
hood or womanhood, stronger physically and mentally, 
and, no matter what your work may be, you will always 
do it better and with less fatigue. If you know for a 
certainty, and you should if you have made the proper 
inquiries concerning the subject, that there is pulmonary 
phthisis in your family, either on one side or the other, 
then, as sure as fate, you will have to meet it sooner or 
later. Now, however, while still young, a maximum de- 
velopment of the lungs will enable you to banish all 
dread of that disease from your mind; besides, who 
needs it more than you? If you mature with well- 
developed lungs, they will prove of more real value to you 
throughout the remainder of your life, if you lead a 
natural one, than a large bank account. This is a for- 
tune that you now have within your reach — yours for the 
mere taking. You should continue your lung exercises 
at intervals every day, until you reach the age of thirty- 
five. Even, if you are already anywhere between that 
and forty, and no lung disease exists, lung development 
will come promptly by proper training, though a little 
slower than it otherwise would if you were ten or fifteen 
years younger. Yet, at this age, the very finest degree 
of development can be obtained, provided you persevere 
in the exercises. It is possible to thus recover your youth 
and vigor to a surprising degree, and not yet too late to 



138 NATURAL METHODS. 

remedy many physical defects, such as improper breath- 
ing, awkward carriage of the body, stooping, round 
shoulders, not standing erect, as well as " toeing in." If 
you are feeble physically in any manner whatever, then 
lung development will aid you to overcome it as no other 
one thing can. If your age is between forty and sixty, it 
is still possible for you, especially if you have hitherto 
had good health and vigor, to not only fully regain all 
you have lost, but to retain manhood or womanhood in 
the best possible condition. After passing that age, you 
stand more specially in need of it, if for no other rea- 
son than to enable you to hold your own, and thus 
prevent both a loss of vital force and capacity, since it is 
at that period in life that a marked loss of both is notice- 
able. Hence, in all cases where a progressive loss of 
weight occurs, and wrinkles multiply rapidly, you should 
take warning and stay, by lung exercises, as well you 
can, in a marked degree, the ravages of the hand of 
time. In fact, there is no period in a person's life when 
proper breathing and lung power will not prove of 
importance in the way of not only prolonging one's 
days, but in aiding and maintaining the general health in 
many important respects. 

LUNG DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDREN. 

Children of phthisical parents of all others stand in 
special need of lung development. It is a sad thing for 
them to be born into this world predisposed to that ter- 
rible disease. Indeed, the prospect for them is appal- 
ling, unless they are defended from it by the superior 
wisdom of their parents. This is the latter' s plain duty, 
and to shirk it would be little less than criminal. They 
have a great responsibility in these cases, and instead of 
merely hoping for the best they should take it for 
granted that their offspring in all probability will de- 
velop it later on if not prevented. In fact, in many 
instances where the parents seem to escape its ravages, 
their children are often all the more predisposed to it. 
They should take them in hand then, and not only bring 



THOSE WHO ARE IN SPECIAL NEED OF LUNG DEVELOPMENT. 139 

them up to lead a normal life in every respect, but insist 
on their taking lung exercises daily — every morning and 
evening — for at least ten minutes at a time. They should 
never select an occupation or business for them that is 
sedentary. Their calling should keep them out-doors 
most of the time. Above all, until they reach the age of 
at least twenty-five, lung and physical development 
should always have the preference over mental cul- 
ture, which can follow later on. If the children are 
thin and predisposed to catching cold, lung development 
is all the more imperative. Better sacrifice time and 
money than your offspring's lives later on. Be assured 
that an out-door life, lung exercise, good habits will 
enable them to reach a good old age and never contract 
pulmonary phthisis, even when otherwise hereditarily 
predisposed to it. Act in this matter, parents. See to 
it that you protect your children, not only against the 
minor dangers of life, but against this terrible scourge 
that already throws its darkened shadow across the path- 
way of their lives. Arouse yourselves before sorrow 
afflicts your soul, and regrets shall take up an abiding 
place in your mind as long as memory can recall the 
past. 

THOSE WHO ARE IN SPECIAL NEED OF 
LUNG DEVELOPMENT. 

Besides children who are predisposed to lung 
troubles, all of our youths and misses just entering the 
age of puberty, especially if they are pale and thin, also 
all young people who have not matured, and who are 
obliged to lead a sedentary life, these lung exercises will 
in a great measure offset its bad effects. This is espe- 
cially true where the occupation is severe upon the lungs 
by obliging them to stoop a great deal. All persons 
troubled with asthma, bronchitis, laryngitis, throat 
troubles and catarrh of the nostrils, as well as those who 
find themselves predisposed to catching cold and have it 
settle on their lungs, for such a condition shows the 
latter to be in a negative state, a weakness of this char- 



140 NATURAL METHODS. 

acter should require prompt and constant consideration, 
since sooner or later serious lung complications are quite 
likely to follow. In all cases where there is any physical 
deformity of the thorax, such as being flat-chested, 
round-shouldered, or otherwise lacking in normal lung 
capacity, indeed, in all chronic diseases where the gen- 
eral health is poor, lung development will prove to be a 
most potent aid to recovery. 



EXEECISES FOR MAXIMUM LUNG 
DEVELOPMENT. 

The following exercises should be taken in addition 
to those given for lung healing, being practically adapted 
for those who have weak and poorly developed lungs 
rather than diseased ones. 

Exercise I. 

Take maximum breath and hold it. Assume pugilistic 
attitude and strike out from the shoulder, first with one 
closed fist, and then the other, as rapidly as possible. 
Count the number of times you can strike out while 
thus retaining your breath. 

Exercise II. 

Take maximum breath and hold it. Count the num- 
ber of steps you can take at your usual gait of walking 
with that one breath. This is a splendid exercise to take 
when walking to and from your place of business or the 
depot. At first you may not be able to count more than 
thirty or forty, but as your lungs develop you will 
ultimately be enabled to take anywhere from one hundred 
to one hundred and fifty, though it may require some 
months' practice to enable you to do so. The person 
who cannot take fifty steps with one breath is in danger 
of pulmonary phthisis setting in, and so stands in special 
need of lung development. 



EXEKCISES FOR MAXIMUM LUNG DEVELOPMENT. 141 

EXERCISE HI. 

Take maximum breath, and see how many yards or 
steps you can run while still holding it. This is a very 
severe exercise, but good for the development of the wind. 

Exercise IV. 

Be seated, and take maximum breath, and see by tim- 
ing yourself how long you can hold it. At first you may 
be able to retain it only thirty or forty seconds, but as 
you gain in lung power you will be enabled to hold it all 
of three minutes. This is a good exercise for developing 
the vital force of the lungs. 

Exercise V. 

Lay your hands flat on the sides of the thorax, and, 
having exhaled your breath, take a slow, deep inhalation, 
and, as you feel your lungs inflate, press in with both 
hands until, notwithstanding the pressure, the lungs have 
been fully inflated. 

This exercise is designed to develop the resisting 
power of the whole thorax as well as the diaphragm and 
lungs. 

Exercise VI. 

Take maximum breath, and, while holding it, drop to 
a crouching position. Eepeat rapidly and count. This 
is one of the very best of exercises for lung expansion. 
It should be taken just before retiring for the night and 
after getting up in the morning, always having the win- 
dows wide open when it is taken. 

Exercise VII. 

Eepeat the above exercise, and in addition, as you rise 
spring from the floor, repeat and count. 



142 

GENERAL REMARKS. 

Are you a member of a family that is predisposed to 
phthisis ? If so, how many of the symptoms already 
enumerated, such as a dry, hacking cough, protracted 
hoarseness, night sweats now and then, and a gradual 
loss of weight, have you ! Don't cheat yourself with the 
thought that your trouble is simply a bad cold, or one of 
the many variations of malaria, for you are evidently 
either in the first stages of phthisis, or bordering on it. 
Better know the truth now, and so begin the fight for 
your life, than to beguile yourself that you are not in 
danger, only to be awakened to a true sense of your 
condition when it is too late. Even when you are not 
hereditarily predisposed to it, and yet have pronounced 
symptoms of this dreaded disease, arouse yourself to the 
necessity of knowing the truth, and make no delay. For 
while you think that time is merely money, it may be life 
or death. As regards your cough, if it is slight, dry and 
hacking, it is a worse sign than if it were a hard one. 
Try your strength, lung power and capacity. In every- 
thing, such as loss of weight, that pertains to phthisis, 
do not always give yourself the benefit of the doubt. 
Don't coddle the notion when you find you are not really 
sick by concluding that you are simply a "little off," 
though otherwise a well person. Nor wait till you be- 
come an emaciated skeleton, about to depart this life, be- 
fore you are brought to a realizing sense of your condi- 
tion. In other words, don't ride Hope as though it were 
"a nag blind of one eye, and can't see out of the other." 
Go to your physician. Not, however, at his dinner 
horn-, on a Sunday or national holiday, for even a doctor 
is not a machine to be wound up at all hours for a fee. 
See him during his office hours. Tell him your family 
history as far as it relates to phthisis, cancer, eczema, 
scrofulous or any other diseases. Then give all your 
symptoms in detail, and ask for a thorough examination. 
Tell him what you want more especially is his plain 
diagnosis of your case as well as all possibilities and 
probabilities concerning it. Tapping your chest in an 



INFLAMMATION. 143 

off-handed way, looking at your tongue, and telling you 
to " take this " — a prescription — should not satisfy you if 
you are in downright earnest about your health, for no 
medical man, no matter what his reputation may be, can 
do you justice in that way. Indeed, it would be well 
for you to get the opinion of no less than two or three 
physicians. Don't make a special point either of think- 
ing that the one who makes the lightest of your fears is 
the best one. Tell them all, moreover, that what you 
most desire is information and advice, not drugs, as you 
are not feasting on the hope that the treatment that has 
failed to cure the millions who die of phthisis every 
year may possibly save you. Get their advice concern- 
ing a change of climate if they inform you that your 
lungs are in a state to justify it. In many cases the 
change is not absolutely necessary; in others it is. 
While a change is a great aid, it is not to be absolutely 
depended upon ; otherwise a failure to cure is inevitable. 
Patients go to extremes — either sit at home and do 
nothing but try the efficacy of drugs to cure them, or, 
when they make a change of climate, drop all kinds of 
treatment. If you can, be off at once, but don't go 
to Florida, Minnesota or Southern California. New 
Mexico or Southwestern Texas, after a long study of 
climates, offers the best conditions. 

INFLAMMATION. 

Since inflammation of a chronic nature is a complica- 
tion of pulmonary phthisis, it would be well to under- 
stand how it is developed and the relation it sustains to 
the circulation of the blood. Much theorizing has been 
done concerning the cause of that condition. So far, all 
that has been ascertained regarding it are its manifesta- 
tions or results ; not its cause. One thing is certain, and 
that is that in no manner whatever is it brought about 
by the circulation of the blood, as many suppose. Bear- 
ing in mind that it is the function of the blood to cir- 
culate through all the blood vessels of the organism, 
healthy and unhealthy alike, then you can readily see 



144 GENERAL REMARKS. 

that it is in no manner accountable for a part that is 
inflamed, any more than it is for one that is not. As it 
is, the same blood circulating through an inflamed tissue 
will, in a few moments later, be found passing through 
one not inflamed, showing conclusively that, if it were 
the cause of congestion in one part, it would also in a 
like manner affect others. We often meet people whose 
faces seem to be bursting with blood, and yet this con- 
dition never causes that complaint. Also, when a person 
holds his breath for quite a while, the face will become 
intensely red, and eyes bulge, on account of the increased 
circulation there. Still, a flux of blood brought to any 
tissue in such an artificial way will never, of itself, 
produce inflammation. Even when it already exists, 
an increase of the circulation to that part, caused 
by any artificial means, such as exercise, will not of itself 
aggravate it. To be sure, when a person's hand is 
inflamed, and is allowed to hang, the blood will distend 
the blood vessels of the inflamed portion, causing pain, 
throbbing, swelling and an increased temperature of the 
tissue involved. Even then it is not the flux of blood to 
the part that aggravates the inflammation, but the 
increased distention of the blood vessels which press upon 
the nerves that supply them. Our explanation of that 
phenomenon is as follows. There is a want of equilibrium 
between the forces that control the structure. The vibra- 
tions which are thrown off by the molecules of matter of 
which the tissue is made up, when acting in unison, not 
only receive, but transmit, the positive vibrations from 
the brain, and the part is then in what we call a normal 
state. When the organism, however, receives some ab- 
normal influence, it transmits it to the brain, which 
immediately responds with positive vibrations of a like 
nature. These are then thrown upon the body, and are 
received by its most negative part. The tension of these 
vibrations, however, is so much greater than the normal 
number that some of the molecules which constitute its 
structure rotate upon their axes. As a result, the posi- 
tive poles of the molecules receive the positive brain 
vibrations, causing the two positives to repel, or, in 



INFLAMMATION. 145 

other words, the flow of the brain vibrations meets with a 
resisting force, the same as electricity does when it 
comes in contact with the carbon filament in an incan- 
descent lamp, causing not only light, but heat. In like 
manner the carbon molecules, in this state, resist the flow 
of the brain vibrations, and heat or inflammation is the 
result. That the blood per se is not the cause of inflam- 
mation, and that it is caused in the above-mentioned way, 
is susceptible of proof, for, if the hand, when inflamed, 
be held above the head, thus facilitating the flow of blood 
from it, and the inflamed part is subjected to pressure, 
or such irritation as friction, or a blow, it will, in a 
like manner, be increased, showing conclusively that it is 
not the blood that is its direct cause. In fact, a part or 
organ is never in any danger while the blood circulates 
freely through it. It is only when the condition of the 
organ or the part involved is such that it will not per- 
mit the blood to flow freely through its blood vessels 
that danger from inflammation really occurs. Indeed, 
when a part is badly inflamed, the carbon in its tissues 
becomes rapidly oxidized ; hence, rapidity of circulation 
is necessary to cany off its product. Thus, the more 
indolent a tissue or organ becomes through disease the 
more it requires an increase in the blood current that 
supplies it. Its very condition is an evidence of an insuf- 
ficiency of the latter, and a normal state can only be 
brought about by increasing it. 

This is particularly true in lung diseases, as no such a 
thing as healing an ulceration or absorbing a tuberculous 
mass can take place without first increasing the circula- 
tion of the involved tissue. Applying all this to the dis- 
eased lungs, we see that in order to heal them, even when 
other means are employed to bring about the desired result, 
that an increase in their circulation is also necessary. 
Thus, if the increase can be kept up to the normal stand- 
ard for a sufficient length of time, all parts or organs 
involved will begin to resume their normal standard of 
health. Bear this in mind — there can be no lung heal- 
ing without an increased circulation to the lung tissue. 
We make particular mention of this matter because 



146 GENERAL REMARKS. 

many people, and not a few doctors, jump at the conclu- 
sion that an increased flow of blood to the lungs by any 
means would be sure to aggravate the inflammation 
existing there around the base of each infiltrated tuber- 
culous mass. We have known a very highly educated 
physician refuse to exercise his lungs for that very 
reason. He argued that if his foot were inflamed we 
would not advise him to use it till the latter had 
entirely subsided. We asked him how he was going to 
apply that principle to his lungs, seeing their action was 
involuntary, and their function could not be suspended in 
the same manner as he could that of his foot. His erro- 
neous conception of the whole matter was that exercise 
would increase the circulation already existing in 
his lungs, and so failed to grasp the fact that it per 
se could never cause inflammation. He died of pul- 
monary phthisis a few weeks later. A patient, who 
had pleurisy with great effusion, was ordered to take 
maximum breaths, with a view to break up adhesions 
existing there, as well as to prevent new ones from form- 
ing. He faithfully carried out the instructions, and suc- 
ceeded in preventing the formation of any more, and 
even in breaking up those that already existed. When 
he took an inspiration, the lung would rise out of the 
water, and splash back into it again, following the expir- 
ation. One day, after taking a deep breath, he sneezed, 
and the adhesions broke suddenly away, after which the 
whole trouble disappeared. In this case the inhalations 
aided the patient all through the attack, and never for a 
moment aggravated the inflammatory condition already 
existing there. At first it would increase the pain, but 
he saw the necessity of getting the lung to move by the 
inflamed spot, and so, manfully kept to his work. 

CATCHING COLD. 

There is probably no class of persons who take so 
many precautions to avoid catching cold as patients 
suffering from pulmonary phthisis, once it has fairly set 
in. They seem to think that the original cause of their 



CATCHING COLD. 147 

complaint was from contracting a severe cold ; yet, there 
is nothing further from the truth than any such a con- 
clusion. It never seems to occur to them that the bad 
habits, dissipations and other abnormal ways of living in 
the past had anything to do with it, and so they make 
the grievous mistake of attributing the whole trouble to 
to such an attack and not to a loss of vital force, which is 
the correct cause. Now, it is safe to affirm that a cold of 
itself, severe or otherwise, never yet caused a person to 
contract pulmonary phthisis. "When this disease seems 
to suddenly develop after contracting that complaint, it 
can, in every case, be traced directly to a previous loss 
of vital force that had reduced the patient's system in 
such a manner that all that was required to cause it 
to develop in all its severity was some slight exposure. 
The same attack, if no loss of vital force had previously 
occurred, would have been thrown off easily or the system 
might have successfully resisted it altogether. Being 
wrong in their conclusions as to the real cause, they are 
doubly so in their methods of trying to avert another 
one, in order that the existing disease should not be 
aggravated. They are not aware that some patients 
have phthisis and die with it without ever having 
any symptoms of a cold. Being exceedingly careful, they 
also shut themselves in close, warm rooms, as well as 
spending a good part of their time dodging draughts 
and inhaling their own vile exhalations. Having a 
wrong conception of the cause of their trouble, they 
adopt a method of living that makes a cure of it ab- 
solutely impossible, since an indoor life is the most 
favorable for its progressive development, and so, as if 
conniving at their own destruction, they live the very 
life that makes hope of recovery impossible, and all to 
prevent themselves from catching cold. The trouble is 
they have contracted pulmonary phthisis, which, in 
order to make a cure possible, requires an abundance of 
fresh air, and so, in order to avoid the latter, they 
unwittingly do everything in their power to aid the 
further development of the real trouble. If they had 
less fear of catching cold and a greater dread of not 



148 GENERAL REMAKES. 

having the necessary amount of fresh air to breathe, 
we would hear of more of these cases being healed. As 
it is, there is much said about phthisical patients catch- 
ing cold that is pure humbug. For what at times ap- 
pears to indicate that a cold was taken is generally a 
disturbance that is intimately associated with the prog- 
ress of the lung trouble, and in no manner whatever a 
fresh cold. Let the patient be properly clothed, partake 
of a milk diet, exercise his lungs, and he will soon find 
that he can live an out-door lif e both day and night, espe- 
cially in a mild climate, as well as a person in the most 
robust health, and show good rather that ill effects from 
it. Indeed, this very class of patients, when living in 
that way, are not by any means predisposed to catching 
cold. They can even sleep in a draught, when subsisting on 
the above mentioned diet, that would make strong persons 
shudder for their lives, and yet not show the slightest 
signs of having contracted a cold. In fact, if there is 
anything that is markedly noticeable in these cases, it is 
that an out-door life cures them most effectually of 
their predisposition to take cold, while an in-door one 
aggravates it. If properly clothed, why should a person 
catch cold out of doors any more than in ? In both cases 
the air comes in contact with the person's face only. 
They can easily bear zero weather in the daytime, 
then, why not in the night ? The conditions of the air 
during the whole twenty-four hours is the same, with 
the possible exception that that of the night may con- 
tain little more humidity, and yet in that condition, it 
enters every sleeping room that is properly ventilated. 
But, even then, the humidity of the night air out of 
doors is never as great as that of a closed sleeping room, 
on account of the humid exhalations from the lungs and 
body of the person sleeping there, while in every other 
respect it is far purer. All talk about the night air being 
bad is antiquated fudge. To be sure, the human system is 
in a more negative condition in the night, and is thus more 
sensitive to changes in the weather, but it is likewise 
more susceptible to the ill effects of bad air, as it rapidly 
depletes the vital force of the system that is required to 



CATCHING COLD. 149 

eliminate it. Moreover, living in-doors, with a view to 
taking good care of one's self, is the old method that has 
failed in billions of cases to cure this disease, while the 
practical results achieved in the forests of Germany, in 
Southwestern Texas, in the bush, as well as in many 
sanitariums in the North, prove conclusively that an out- 
door life, as an auxiliary aid in the cure of pulmonary 
phthisis, is the correct one. Practical results show that 
patients, when first beginning to sleep out at night, will 
seem to get a catarrhal cold, maybe, in the head, throat 
and bronchial tubes, yet often, as a result, the dry, hack- 
ing cough is relieved. Even when the latter appears to be 
stronger, that is to be always regarded as a good omen 
rather than a bad one, for a weak lung coughs weak, and 
a strong one coughs strong. It is time this class of 
patients were taught these fundamental principles, that 
their minds may be relieved of all worry over the 
possibility of catching cold. Suppose they do — since it is 
no part of the disease, better by far, catch an occasional 
cold out of doors than to inhale concentrated filth and 
poison most of the time in-doors. Colds will be seldom 
contracted, anyhow, by this class of patients, all things in 
the way of auxiliary treatment being correct. Take any 
number of patients who sleep in the open air, and an 
equal number who sleep in doors, and those who sleep in 
close apartments will have a dozen colds to one among 
those who sleep out. We have seen a practical demonstra- 
tion of this question sufficient to do away with all doubt 
in the matter. 

Here we have the proofs then, that if this class of 
patients wish to avoid catching cold, they must live an 
out-door life. Pulmonary phthisis, in a vast majority of 
cases, means death by the poisoned inhalations from the 
patient's lungs and body, and there is no possible way to 
avoid it without sleeping where there is sufficient air to 
effectually disinfect every breath they exhale. In the 
case where the patient shudders at the idea of catching 
cold, and yet unwittingly breathes death with every 
breath, ignorance is surely not bliss. 



150 GENERAL REMAKES. 

HOW YOU CATCH COLD. 

As there is much ignorance displayed concerning just 
how a person catches cold, it is indispensable that you 
should thoroughly understand just how it is really con- 
tracted. The commonly accepted idea is that it is occasioned 
by the surface of the body being chilled, which is true 
as far as it goes. But the mistake is made in supposing 
that the part that is especially affected is the blood in the 
capillary. Let us examine the theory carefully: The 
sudden contraction of those minute vessels when chilled 
causes a reduction of the amount of blood that passes 
through them. It is not, however, entirely suspended, 
but simply reduced to just the quantity that their organic 
structure can heat, for the part, though slightly lowered in 
temperature, is still not devoid of heat by any means. If 
we follow the blood that passes through those small 
tubes, we find even that if it were chilled, it must be 
very slightly, as its circulation is exceedingly rapid, and 
passes at once into the warm venous circulation, which 
imparts its heat to it; and as between the small part 
chilled and the large quantity at a normal degree of heat, 
an equilibrium of temperature would be almost instantly 
established between them. Then, after entering the 
venous circulation, it would pass up through the vena 
cava and the right side of the heart to the lungs, where 
it would be oxidized, and instead of returning to the same 
spot where it was chilled, pass on to almost any part of 
the body. How it could thus impart its bad effects after 
the chill had been overcome and diffused throughout the 
whole organism, and cause any particular part or organ 
to take on a severe inflammation, is beyond our 
power to conceive. Even the chilling of the inorganic 
cellular structure of the capillaries themselves fails to ex- 
plain it, since it in no manner points out how they could 
transmit to most any other part of the organic system 
the chill they received, and not be affected themselves, 
since it does not cause a local inflammation of the portion 
first chilled. How is it, moreover, that one person will 
catch what we term " a cold/' and come down with rheu- 



HOW YOU CATCH COLD. 151 

matism, while another contracting it in exactly the same 
manner will have pneumonia, bronchitis, quinsy, or a 
severe coryza ? We also know for a certainty that it 
matters not what particular part of the surface of the 
body may be exposed and chilled, since it may in differ- 
ent persons result in any number of distinct diseases. 
Thus, we see that a chilled condition of the capillary cir- 
culation or its blood vessels in no manner accounts for 
the phenomenon of how we catch cold. In giving a 
description of the skin, you will readily see later on 
that we emphasize the fact that the sensitive nerve 
papillae occupy the most prominent position in the 
true skin or derma, of the entire surface of the body, 
and that when anything comes in contact with them, 
whether a blow or a draught of air, they are the 
first to be affected by it. This is apparent, for, before the 
blood vessels themselves could contract, the chilled air 
would have to act upon the sensitive papillae; other- 
wise, in a normal condition, no contraction could pos- 
sibly take place. Their prominence, as well as the only 
parts present that are endowed with power to take cog- 
nizance of either a blow or draught of air, and correctly 
transmit its nature to the brain, shows that they are on 
guard for that purpose. It is here, then, where we find 
a true solution to just how a person contracts a cold — the 
circulation having nothing to do with it in any sense 
whatever. When any part of the surface of the body is 
unduly exposed to a low temperature, the sensitive nerves 
receive a shock, which, being carried to the brain, causes 
it to respond with vibrations of a like character, which 
are evidently abnormal, and they are thrown upon the 
organism. Now, as we have before pointed out, when 
each and every organ is in its normal state, it is in a 
positive condition — that is, it possesses vital force suf- 
ficient to make it so ; while, when an organ or any part of 
the system is diseased, it is in a negative state. When 
the brain responds to the shock caused by the chill, 
its positive vibrations are thrown upon the entire organ- 
ism, yet every healthy organ in the body by virtue of its 
positive state repels it on the well-known principle that 



152 GENERAL REMARKS. 

two positives repel, and so the healthy organs are not af- 
fected. But as a j)ositive and negative attract each other, 
and a circuit is established, the weak or diseased lung, or 
part at all predisposed to any disease, is attacked, and the 
bad effects of catching cold are sure to find that spot, no 
matter where it may be located. It proves the old saying 
to be a fact that a cold always finds the weak place. It 
makes clear why it is that, no matter what particular 
part of the body first receives the chill, it will not cause 
the organs directly beneath or adjacent to it to be af- 
fected, but always that part in the most negative state. 
It accounts for the reason that, if a person be predisposed 
to bronchitis, pleurisy, laryngitis or pulmonary phthisis 
through a lack of vital force in the tissue affected, that 
the cold contracted through the feet will, instead of 
settling in them, affect any one of the above-mentioned 
organs, and do it just as effectually as though taken in 
through the integument that covers them. It explains, 
moreover, that a cold taken through the surface of the 
chest in a person predisposed to rheumatism will cause the 
hands and feet to become swollen with that disease. It 
makes plain how it is, when a person is especially predis- 
posed to a complaint, that a cold will bring it on, or aggra- 
vate it if already existing — no matter what it may be, 
or where it is located. It shows how a person with 
strong lungs may be chilled on the thorax, yet not have 
its ill effects pass directly through its integument, 
muscles, bones and pleura to the lungs. Thus, you are 
enabled to see at a glance that the chilling of the capil- 
lary circulation or the nerve papillae of the skin will not 
transmit its effect directly to the organ that it 
covers, provided it is in a positive or healthy state. This 
is sufficient to help you to clearly understand not only 
how colds are contracted, but enable you to dress 
intelligently, by which we mean to cover one part of the 
body just as warm as the other, and avoid the erroneous 
and foolish method of bundling up the thorax with too 
much clothing, and neglecting to sufficiently protect the 
extremities. 

In connection with this subject you should understand 



YOUR MIND. 153 

that dressing in this manner is detrimental to the lungs 
rather than a protection, since as heat is positive, and cold 
negative, so with one part too cold and the other too hot 
it would have a tendency to form a circuit to establish an 
equilibrium, and thus transmit the cold directly to those 
organs if kept warmer than any other portion. Catching 
cold in any part of the respiratory system shows that it is 
already negative, as compared with other organs, and 
should be strengthened forthwith. Eepeated attacks leave 
them in a weaker and weaker state, and all the more 
ready to succumb to another attack when the con- 
dition that caused it occurs. "When, moreover, any part 
of the body is kept warmer than another, it is the cause 
of a marked waste of vital force, since the great sympa- 
thetic system uses up the vital force in its endeavors 
to maintain an equilibrium of temperature between the 
different parts of the organism; hence, uniformity of 
clothing of the body is a necessity in pulmonary phthisis. 

YOUE MIND. 

There are a few important facts to continually keep in 
view regarding your mentality as well as the intimate 
relations your mind sustains to not only your body in 
general, but to your weak and diseased lungs in particu- 
lar. You now fully realize that you are nervous — not 
necessarily hysterical, but that you are merely abnor- 
mally sensitive to all the conditions that environ your 
life — so much so that you now find a little excitement 
makes you tremble, faint, sick to your stomach, as well 
as causing palpitations of the heart, loss of appetite, 
insomnia and a decided aggravation of your cough. You 
say that formerly this was not the case, as you could then 
throw off as an insignificant matter scarcely worthy of 
thought what proves now to be a serious affliction. The 
bustle and hurry of the street are sufficient to weary you 
and make you long to escape from them. Business and 
professional duties burden you seemingly past endur- 
ance, while domestic cares, trouble and strife make 
existence almost unbearable. A harsh w T ord stabs you 



154 GENERAL REMARKS. 

like a knife, while the ordinary annoyances of life are 
sufficient to keep you almost constantly in an irritable 
state of mind. Now, the cause of all this is on account 
of a loss of vital force, which was the resisting power when 
you were in good health. If you were positive enough, 
you would easily repel all positive conditions, but being 
negative you attract them, and as a result suffer the con- 
sequences. To illustrate: Simply consider your eyes to 
be a camera that is continually taking snap shots at all 
sights that are about you, your brain being the nega- 
tive, and your general organism the positive, and you can 
readily comprehend how the former, through the medium 
of its vibrations, throws upon your weak or diseased 
lungs, as part of the organs of the body, a perfect reflec- 
tion of all the conditions of life that surround you. If 
they are inharmonious, irritating and harsh, they will be 
reflected upon them, and, on account of their negative 
condition, be unable to repel them. On the other 
hand, if they be pleasing to the senses, and otherwise 
normal, you will feel soothed, quieted and stronger, 
cough less and sleep better. From the foregoing it is 
evident that a normal state of the mind is indispensable 
in order to effect a cure of your lungs, for, though all 
things else were present and this wanting, their restora- 
tion would be impossible. As a guide, then, to aid you 
to successfully accomplish that desired result, you are to 
strictly observe the following rules: Stop all mental 
labor of every possible description, whether study or 
literary. Neither should you pore over medical books 
till you scare yourself with the belief that you have all 
the diseases that flesh is heir to. There is an old 
saying that, when a doctor treats himself, he has a fool for 
a patient. Such being the case, just imagine what kind of 
a person you must necessarily be when trying to ac- 
curately diagnose your complaint and heal yourself. 
Throw away all such books, for, after reading any one 
of them through, you will hardly be able to decide 
whether you have a tapeworm or are a walking dime 
museum of pathological curiosities. Don't imagine be- 
cause you are not promptly cured that your disease is 



YOUR MIND. 155 

a very complicated one. This is not so, for, on the 
contrary, there is, perhaps, no complaint that a physician 
is called upon to examine that is so easy to diagnose 
correctly and off-handed as pulmonary phthisis. Then, 
don't add study, bother and worry to your burden, for 
your load is heavy enough. And, as far as religious 
matters are concerned, remember you are not to attend 
protracted meetings, such as exciting revivals, or listen 
to preaching that will harrow you up. Neither should you 
occupy you time in reading emotional novels and weeping 
over those many narrow escapes as "the villain still 
pursued her." You are to be philosophical and not 
sentimental. In a word, the emotions are not to be 
excited under any circumstances. Don't make the mis- 
take of supposing that, in order to keep your brain in a 
quiescent state, it should be fed on " blood and thunder." 
Moreover, all business cares and professional duties must 
cease by severing your connection with them. Politics 
are to be completely tabooed. If you have any domestic 
troubles with your " better-half," make up. Let your kiss 
then be an offering of sweet peace and affection. As for 
yourself, be superior to your troubles, and rise above 
them. Don't be an instrument always giving forth dole- 
ful notes of woe. Don't be a cloud in the household or 
an eclipse on the face of your " better-half." Show ap- 
preciation for all the little acts of kindness that are done 
for you. Forget not that for a bright smile there should 
be, at least, a sweet recompense. Look on the sunny 
side of life. The idea, then, is to keep your mind in as 
peaceful and quiet a state as possible, in order that your 
lungs, as part of the general organism, may become all 
the stronger. It is often the case that, when we find 
the mental capacity of a person in a low or negative 
state, we find the body in a correspondingly superior 
condition as far as health and strength are concerned. 
It does not follow by any means that all persons with a 
superb physique have a low order of intellect any more 
than it does that one with a frail, impoverished frame 
or body must of necessity have a very brilliant mind. 
It simply amounts to this. All things being equal, if 



156 GENERAL REMARKS. 

the brain uses up the vitality of the body, the lungs, 
as a part of that organism, must suffer as a conse- 
quence of not having a sufficient amount of motive force 
to run them up to their normal standard. It requires a 
certain definite degree of that power to regulate the 
circulation of the lungs as well as to carry on the work 
of endosmosis and exosmosis, cell building, and the 
required amount for absorption of broken-down material 
by the lacteals. The necessity of not wasting it then, as 
well as centering it on the lungs, is very plain. When, 
lung healing is required, and not mental culture; the 
energy should not be used in the latter direction. As one 
cannot have his money and spend it, neither can your 
diseased lungs monopolize the vital force of your organ- 
ism if mental effort is continually squandering it. Hence, 
the rule for you to observe is — keep your mind in as 
negative a condition as possible. 

ANGER. 

In the preceding chapter we have pointed out, in a 
general way, the necessity of not permitting a waste of 
vital force through your mentality. Though the question 
of anger or passion is a part of the same subject, we 
have purposely reserved it as one of sufficient conse- 
quence to be discussed by itself in order that we might 
be enabled to more especially emphasize the importance 
of never permitting indulgence in it. Can you consider 
any man who habitually allows himself to be thrown 
into a passion an individual of brains or ability ? In fact, 
does not every such exhibition of it betray decided men- 
tal weakness ! Not but that such a person may be a 
scholar, capable of doing great mental work, as well 
as quite profound and brilliant, and yet, in the matter of 
self-restraint, be as weak as a baby crying for milk. As 
far as that part of his mentality known as his will is 
concerned, it shows it is still in the same condition as 
that of an unbroken colt who has the upper hand of its 
owner. To be a man, then, in the true sense of the word, 
is to be master of one's self. But you say I am cer- 



ANGER. 157 

tainly justified in resenting abuse or injury, as well 
as defending my life at any cost. While that is all 
true, still few mortals are called upon to defend their 
lives, while almost every one finds himself obliged to 
curb his anger and passion almost every day of his life. 
Because you have been wronged, it is no reason that 
you should, for the time being, abandon your manhood 
and retaliate by emulating the mad wild antics of an en- 
raged animal. "When a person insults or abuses a sick 
man, he is no gentleman, and so is unworthy of notice. 
If he is an honorable man, and has made a grievous mis- 
take, just quietly point it out to him, and he will apolo- 
gize and otherwise make amends. You see, then, that in 
either case you would not be justified in flying into a 
rage. Now, we speak of this matter from a purely 
physical standpoint, though we might justly add that 
what is morally right must, of necessity, be physically 
right, while that winch is physically right must be morally 
so. Then, as a patient with a weak or diseased lung, 
why should you at any time enter into any serious con- 
tention with any one when anger or passion will do 
you far more harm physically than any invective of yours 
can possibly affect him if he be perfectly well ? Even if 
you go into court and win your case, and he is fined and 
otherwise punished, still the excitement will do you 
more injury than it will him. Don't you see, then, that 
in turning your back on him you may be defending your 
own life? Thus, it should be plain to you, when you 
know that the brain is the great organ that generates the 
nerve vibrations that constitute the real motive power for 
the organs of the body, that nothing should be allowed 
to interfere with their normal production. As like 
begets like, harmony of mind is sure to produce a 
quiet, soothing feeling, not only to the weak or diseased 
lungs, but to the whole system as well ; while, if it gen- 
erates abnormal, discordant vibrations, it is sure to have a 
correspondingly bad effect upon the lungs. Then don't 
allow yourself to get irritated, peevish, snappish, or 
betray emotion of any angry nature. Don't enter into a 
heated discussion on any religious, political, national or 



158 GENERAL REMARKS. 

personal topic. In fact, the more feeling and interest 
you have in any question the more you should avoid dis- 
cussing it, especially with one who antagonizes you 
Moreover, never allow your mind to dwell on old grudges 
or animosities. Remember that, while your brain is 
charged with feelings of this nature, it will rankle and 
prevent it from generating harmonious vibrations, which 
are absolutely essential to effect a cure of your lungs. If 
your mind was embittered when you contracted your 
disease, then it will be necessary, in order to make 
a radical change in the generation of the brain's vibra- 
tions, to divest it of all such thoughts as those of revenge 
or ill will. Resolve rather to be charitable — even to the 
uncharitable. Speak a good word, if possible, for every 
one, and cultivate a kindly feeling for all with whom you 
come in contact. Don't swear, no matter what your 
religious belief may be, or whether you have any or not. 
It is not only vulgar, but it is generally anger empha- 
sized. When persons apparently in perfect health die — 
and they often do — from the ill effects of a fit of passion, 
it is not the mere thought or act that kills, but the 
perfect cyclone of vibrations discharged from the brain 
upon some weak part of the organism. No anger and no 
display of passion, and as a result you will be surprised 
at the feeling of peace, quiet and comfort that will come 
to you. Then you will realize in its fullest sense that 
virtue is indeed its own reward. To make a cure of your 
case possible will thus depend in a great measure whether 
you succeed in keeping your mind in a quiescent state. 
It is much easier to do than you imagine, if you only try. 

ENJOYMENTS. 

"Why," you exclaim, "your method of cure takes 
away all of one's pleasures, and leaves life made up of 
one dreary round of a monotonous existence. As well 
be dead as live a life that is robbed of all its joys. 
Please don't consider me an automaton without feeling, 
likes or dislikes, or love for good things." Unfortunately, 
we can now regard you in no other light than that of a 



ENJOYMENTS. 159 

patient, and, as such, surely not a pleasure seeker. Sup- 
pose you were in a hospital for the treatment of some 
curable disease, such as rheumatism, would you think 
for a moment of looking for a good time there ! By no 
means. Why should you, then, when suffering from a 
pulmonary disease, insist, because you are not in such 
a place, that pleasure should be yours? Suppose we 
should say, " Oh, after all, the life for you to lead is to 
be faithful in the observance of the many little things 
that we have pointed out to you as an aid to your recov- 
ery, while the big ones you may overlook," what would 
you say ! Why, simply that, if good could accrue to you 
from the observance of the former, great good would 
surely result from a strict observance of the latter. And, 
since you are after all the benefit possible, you would 
not only observe the one, but also the other. But sup- 
pose, in the ecstacy of the thought of indulging your 
desires ad libitum, you would really not think at all, but 
exclaim, " Why, if I can have all of those things, I am 
satisfied; the rest are of no account, anyway. Your 
advice just suits me, for of all things they make up the 
sum total of my joys." Thus, you would prove that the 
many little things desired of you to scrupulously observe 
can be easily done, while to ask you to unceremoniously 
strangle a cultivated habit of long standing that is mak- 
ing a terrible drain on your vital force is to require a 
sacrifice that would make life unbearable. But the ques- 
tion is, What are you living for, anyway ? Is it to simply 
satisfy those abnormal desires and habits'? Such, 
indeed, would seem to be the case when you declare that 
life without them is a blank. If that is all that you wish 
to live for, what matters it whether you live or not ! As 
it is, what are any of them, at most, but a fleeting pleas- 
ure — no sooner here than gone? And, if you indulge 
them, do you know for a certainty how much of the 
miseries that afflict you for twenty-four hours after wards 
are due to their momentary enjoyment ! No, you don't ; 
and you cannot say to just what extent your nervousness, 
loss of sleep, night sweats, cough, and in fact the general 
run of your symptoms, in a marked degree are not caused 



160 GENERAL REMARKS. 

by them. If so, liow are you going to find out without 
stopping them, and thus ascertain for a certainty whether 
it is so or not ! Do you really wish to know 1 Then do as 
we advise you. Don't try it for a day or a week, and 
then relapse into your old style of living. As for your 
desires in the way of abnormal indulgences, they are not 
to be considered in this matter, for you are not to com- 
promise with them in any degree whatever. Normal 
health calls for a normal life, and if you mean to have the 
one, you must adhere to the other. Suppose you indulge 
your unnatural habits and appetites — what are they as a 
pleasure, compared with the disease that affects you con- 
tinually, not to speak of that feeling of uncertainty that 
is ever present ? And what are they, one and all, even 
as enjoyments, compared with knowing for a certainty 
that a dozen and one leaks of vital force have been 
most effectually stopped. Indeed, is it not a supreme 
satisfaction to know positively that, whereas formerly you 
were quickly traveling over the same old beaten road 
where the world's billions before you have trod when 
afflicted with your disease, that you are now being guided 
into paths more promising of health, strength and a long 
life than you could possibly have hoped for leading 
the old life? Indeed, is it not a great joy to 
realize that you have shaken off every habit and 
desire that have hitherto, like so many heavy weights, 
handicapped you in your struggle for life, and that 
the grim enemy that overshadowed you, and pointed 
with bony finger to the inevitable near future, has, 
at last, turned his back upon you, and is slowly, but 
surely, receding from your sight ? What is the pleasure 
of the coffee cup, the liquor flask, the pipe, or any of the 
unnatural desires of one's nature, to the knowledge that 
that terrible cough is less frequent, that the night sweat 
has ceased, that the blessing of sleep has come, that a 
good appetite and digestion are at last yours — nature's 
dividend declared to you as one of her stockholders? 
But, even aside from these real and lasting joys, built out 
of the material of self-denial, you have many other pleas- 
ures to help while away the time till health is restored. 



ENJOYMENTS. 161 

Do you love music? Then revel in it to the bent of your 
pleasure, if it be within your reach. If you play, then 
do so ; only don't make hard work or a study of it. If 
you can't play, then get some one who can, if possible. 
Don't let it keep you in-doors too much, however, and 
never where there is a crowd. Sing if you can ; and, if 
you can't, at least try. It is one of the best of exercises, 
and may safely be indulged in as often as you please, 
provided you merely do it for pleasure, and not make 
really labor of it. Take all of the various parlor games 
outdoors, weather permitting, and enjoy yourself in that 
way as much as possible. Try your hand at chess, 
checkers, backgammon, dominoes and cards. Never 
play exciting games, and excuse yourself the moment 
anger or dispute occurs. Never play for a stake. Read 
your morning papers out-doors after they have been thor- 
oughly dried. Don't interest yourself in thrilling de- 
scriptions of murder, lynching, or appalling catastrophes 
of any nature. Confine your reading to political items, 
and if your favorite son " gets left," don't feel that the 
county is lost, as no doubt at the next election he will 
turn up as fat as ever, and your native land where he left 
it at the time of his defeat. Peruse the general run of 
news, such as the small gossip, the funny man's puns 
and jokes, as well as all kinds of humorous works. On 
all occasions be jovial and good-natured. Better ven- 
ture on a bon mot, though you may make a miserable 
failure of it, than to succeed in the character of melan- 
choly owl. Have always on hand one of those light, 
reclining, folding chairs, to be used in your room and out 
of doors when the weather is suitable. In fact, be 
lazy and as comfortable as possible. When you play 
croquet, take a chair with you, and sit down between the 
innings. As a long ride often proves to be dangerous 
for a person in your condition, don't take it, no matter 
how enticing the invitation may be. Never ride behind 
a fast horse, or drive over a rough road. Horseback, 
never. Nor attempt lawn tennis or baseball. No nine- 
pins, or sit on a cold stone, or on the bank of a stream of 
water. Don't sit on the doorstep after sundown. Make 



162 GENERAL REMARKS. 

the most of everything that, as pleasure, will keep 
you out of doors much of the time. Don't despise even 
five cents' worth of hand-organ grinding. It will not 
harm you, and may jostle the monotony just a trifle. This 
advice is not mere verbiage. To the consumptive, if he 
but knew it, every hint above given is the result of years 
of observation $ and, if they are disregarded, it will be at 
his peril. 

HABITS. 

Frequently we meet patients who indulge in habits 
that, if not the only cause of their lung trouble, contribute 
materially to it, and which, when continued indefinitely, 
prevent a cure from ever being accomplished. Just like 
so many faucets leaking, one here and another there 
throughout the rooms of a house, causing, when long 
continued, a decided loss of water and a large increase in 
the tax rate for the year, so we find bad habits, when 
constantly indulged in, causing a decided waste of vital 
force. 

Generally, we find it going on in several directions at 
the expense of the system, and, especially, of any weak or 
diseased organs, like the lungs. If, then, you are serious 
in your determination to do everything in your power to re- 
gain your health, you must begin by dropping all your 
evil ways, and stop, once for all, any possibility of waste 
of vital force in every possible direction. Do you drinkintox- 
icating liquor ? If so, stop it as a clock stops — never to go 
again. Don't compromise the matter, and try to wean 
yourself a little at a time, or take some doctor's advice 
who is given to the habit himself, and " take a little for 
the stomach's sake." Alcohol is a paralyzer in its physi- 
ological effects on the human organism, and not only 
causes a loss of vital force by over-stimulation, but it will 
require a further waste to eradicate its effects from your 
system. Moreover, it will interfere with the normal 
vibrations generated by your brain for the use of both 
your body and lungs, since, under its influence they must 
necessarily be abnormal. Don't fall into the error of 



SMOKING AND PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT. 163 

supposing that it contains nourishment for the system, 
for it is far more lacking in any such principle than the 
ordinary water you drink, which generally has more or 
less of the inorganic elements in it that can be used for the 
structure of the organic cellular tissue. Likewise, beer 
should be tabooed, as its active principle is alcohol. More- 
over, there is little or no nourishment in it, while fre- 
quently it contains such drugs as aloes and strychnine or 
nux vomica, that is sure to react badly on your weak and 
diseased lungs. 

If you chew or smoke tobacco the following should be 
of interest to you : 

SMOKING AND PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT. 

From the records of the senior class of Yale College 
during the past eight years, the non-smokers have proved 
to have decidedly gained over the smokers in height, 
weight and lung capacity. All candidates for the crews 
and other athletic sports were non-smokers. The non- 
smokers were twenty per cent, taller than the smokers, 
twenty- five per cent, heavier, and had sixty-two per cent, 
more lung capacity. In the graduating class of Amherst 
College of the present year, those not using tobacco 
have in weight gained twenty-four per cent, over those 
using tobacco ; in height, thirty-seven per cent/, in chest 
girth, forty- two per cent., while they have a greater 
average lung capacity by 8.36 cubic inches (Medical 
News). 

The desire for tobacco is simply an unnatural craving 
for that baneful poison, nicotine. It cannot be taken 
into the human system without causing a great loss of 
vital force in its elimination, as well as proving detri- 
mental in a number of ways. 

Never forget that, when prize fighters and athletes 
are in training, that the rule in these days is to use 
neither alcohol or tobacco, since he who does, all other 
things being equal, is sure to lose the fight or contest. 
If, then, it is known as a positively demonstrated fact, in 
no manner tainted with sentiment, that their use is det- 



164 GENERAL REMARKS. 

rimental, even to such men almost in the pink of physi- 
cal perfection, you may rest assured that a person in your 
condition is sure to pay a terrible penalty if you continue 
the use of either. 

Your mind will be troubled for a while after you first 
give them up and, no doubt the thought of them may 
haunt you for a time, but eventually you will throw off 
their shackles, and stand forth a free man ; and, as sure 
as virtue is its own reward, will a corresponding gain in 
health be your sure compensation. We have known a 
minister to pledge a number of his parishioners — young 
and old — to stop the use of tobacco, and at the end of 
three months even old men between the ages of seventy 
and eighty reported a gain in weight anywhere from fif- 
teen to twenty pounds, while all had made marked gains 
in every respect regarding the state of their general 
health and mentality. An increase in weight is what you 
are after, and you are now surely pointed to the way by 
which you can help to gain it. Then be in your purpose as 
firm as the everlasting hills, and stop the use of all 
stimulants. 

There is still another habit that is beyond question 
a baneful one, and that is to sit for hours daily reading 
freshly-printed newspapers, magazines and books. You 
first take up the morning paper, and, notwithstanding its 
smell is almost unbearable, hold it within a few inches of 
your nose, and breathe for hours at a time the odor of 
printer's ink that comes from it. The attitude of holding 
it aids effectively in preventing the pure air from enter- 
ing your nostrils until it has first come in contact with 
the paper. Then, when that is laid aside, you pick up 
several weeklies, and, perhaps, a comic one, followed, as is 
often the case, with the latest novel, and read that for 
the rest of the day. If you think you are breathing fresh 
air in this way you are badly mistaken. Who does not 
love his morning paper? In fact, what is life in these 
times without it % It is, indeed, an indispensable educa- 
tor. It travels for us on the wings of lightning, and 
brings us in contact with the teeming, busy millions of a 
mighty world. The press to-day is breaking more 



SMOKING AND PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT. 165 

shackles, and freeing the mind of error, more than any 
other factor on this mundane sphere. Its mission is one 
of the greatest, and, yet, when it comes new from the 
press laden with the smell of moisture and ink, it is not 
wholesome or safe for a person having pulmonary 
troubles to read until thoroughly dry. By breathing 
fresh printer's ink from the surface of a paper or maga- 
zine, you bring the printing establishment right under 
your nose for hours at a time. Now, while one's daily 
paper is indispensable, you can readily avoid coming in 
contact with it while wet, either by getting some well 
person to read it for you, or by hanging it up — not in 
your room, but in some other part of the house, or out of 
doors, if the weather will permit — until it becomes per- 
fectly dry. Better read it after it has been printed at 
least twenty-four hours. Pure air you must breathe all 
the time. Never cover anything, such as milk or medi- 
cine, with a newspaper, or use it as a substitute for toilet 
paper. Be very particular about this. Neither should 
you ever eat cooked food that has been wrapped up in a 
printed paper. You say you like to play a good game of 
poker. But you never should, for all such games that 
are in the least exciting are bad for you, even though you 
are the coolest person alive. You must not allow a leak 
of vital force in this direction. Besides, men will smoke 
when they play, it being a necessary accessory to keep 
them cool and, even though you don't smoke yourself, you 
will be obliged to breathe for hours at a time a most 
terribly polluted atmosphere. Then, get out, if you are 
in ; and when you are out, stay there. 

Never, for pastime or otherwise, permit yourself to 
indulge in the artistic occupation of mixing oil paints 
and painting for hours at a time. You will be apt to 
get into a crooked position, as well as to stay in-doors 
when you would otherwise be out. And, as for the 
habit of giving a whole day once a week to writing long 
letters, we advise you to do nothing of the kind. Pure 
air and an erect posture are of more importance to you 
than all your correspondence. Besides, you must not 
give one day in the week to any such work. You must 



166 GENERAL REMARKS. 

not turn on the faucet and let vital force run to waste 
in any such a manner, not even for the sake of " Auld 
Lang Syne " once in six months. If you have a number 
of letters to answer, then write one every morning, and 
make it short and to the point. Cut off all correspond- 
ence but that which you cannot consistently avoid. 

Pay all your bills promptly when due, and it will save 
you many annoyances and keep your mind relieved of 
all thought of such obligations. Always keep by your 
bedside a thick pair of long-legged stockings and pair of 
felt shoes (not slippers — don't own a pair, and then you 
won't be tempted to put them on), to be used when you 
get up in the night, for under no circumstances should 
you put your bare feet on the cold floor of your room. 

Be very particular where you expectorate, whether 
out of doors or in. 

Never run for any purpose whatever, not even to 
catch the train. Don't sit in the smoker when you get 
there. Take a seat near the centre of the car and sit away 
from the window. If others about you have windows 
open, then change your seat, if possible, even if you 
have to stand, for you must not expose yourself to 
draughts. If you are addicted to the habit of walk- 
ing, eating and speaking quickly, then drill yourself to 
go slow. Force yourself to be methodical. Remember 
that life is made up of an aggregate of small things, 
and you must be mindful of them all. Thus, you are 
to make a special hobby of preventing any loss of vital 
force. Hoard it even as a miser saves his pennies, and 
in time you will have a good bank account to draw on, 
may be, when you stand badly in need of it. 

ATTACHMENTS. 

If you are still a single person, and have been told 
by competent authority that your lungs are diseased, no 
matter what you may think or hope to the contraiy, and 
contemplate matrimony, don't do it. It is not necessary 
for you to break your engagement. For peace of mind, 
which is essential in your condition, we would advise 



ATTACHMENTS. 167 

you not to do so. Simply have the matter indefinitely 
postponed ; otherwise, you will make a fatal mistake if you 
consummate it. The honeymoon would then surely 
prove to be but a sweet prelude to a dirge. Talk it over, 
and, if your chosen one be worthy of your love, he or she 
will acquiesce at once in the reasonable request of having 
the marriage put off during the time you may be seeking 
to regain your health. Here, indeed, would come the 
real test of love, for no true man or woman would insist 
that your plighted word be fulfilled, knowing for a cer- 
tainty that your life would pay the penalty, by robbing 
you of all hope of recovery. Rather should either one, 
if actuated by the highest motives and a tender solici- 
tude, be anxious to avoid any possible chance that might 
lead to such a sorrow r ful ending. Don't be sentimental 
about it, either, and say, " Oh, we had better get mar- 
ried, anyway ; you need some one now to take care of 
you more than ever." Who can nurse like love; put 
honey in words and sunshine in smiles like love? 
Unwittingly a lover's selfishness often leads him on in 
this way. Hope with him is but a beam in wisdom's 
eye, and he sees in the future naught but the aurora 
borealis of delights. Thus, love paints in rainbow tints, 
and revels in the realms of enchanting probabilities. It 
is not fancy, however, but stern facts, that make up the 
history of every fleeting moment. They tell the story of 
joys and sorrows, aches and pain. Love hypnotized by 
hope paints with dainty touch the rose of health upon 
the sick one's cheek ; fact presents it to the world's gaze 
in the hue and pallor of impending dissolution. Lovers 
don't urge each other on in this manner in a cold-blooded, 
premeditated way ; they simply let hope lead them by 
the nose, and they go a rather welcome captive. 'Tis 
easy to hope, but it is facts alone that play upon the 
heart strings of humanity, and the music they give forth 
it too often the discordant notes of woe, sorrow and 
pain. Thus, the idea of being the sick one's nurse is 
beautiful as a sentiment, yet, nevertheless, a will-o'-the- 
wisp that leads into the morass of despair. Then, to be 
plain, and it is necessary in a matter as grave as this, it 



168 GENERAL REMARKS. 

should be borne in mind that in pulmonary phthisis the 
passions should never be aroused in any degree what- 
ever, as they cause to this class of patients a terrible 
drain of vital force, all of which is now more than 
ever needed as a reserve power with which to combat 
that disease. Besides, it is extremely easy to excite the 
sexual desires in a person suffering from that dreaded 
trouble. True love on the part of the well one should 
not think for a moment of placing the sick one in a posi- 
tion to jeopardize his or her chances of recovery. Then, 
leave sentiment out of the question, and remain single 
while your health is poor. Even if you are not engaged, 
but find yourself becoming attached to a person of the 
opposite sex, then break it off, even if you find it neces- 
sary to change your boarding place or go away from 
home. If you do, don't write after you go. Make the 
possible impossible, and do so before your affections are 
involved, for through them a great waste of vital force may 
occur. It frequently follows that unrequited love causes 
a loss of appetite, sleep, weight and peace of mind to 
such a degree as to eventually terminate in pulmonary 
phthisis. Thus, you, of all persons, should run no risk, 
no matter how strong you may think you are in this re- 
spect. No matter what the strength of a bear may be, 
there is always a trap just a little stronger. Besides, 
you are quite likely, if young, to meet some heartless one, 
who will accept the homage of your soul, and then, with 
an utter disregard for your feelings, throw it away. 
Even then, you alone will be to blame, for you were well 
aware that you had nothing better to offer than a life 
already heavily mortgaged with a very serious complaint, 
and so one would be unwise to accept you, anyway. 
Better look at these facts in their true light. Then, 
don't trifle with your peace of mind. If already free, 
then remain so until such time as you have made a com- 
plete recovery of your health. Companionship with the 
opposite sex has its many advantages, but, in your case, it 
should never pass beyond that boundary. Much more 
could be said on this subject, but, as applied to you, we 
hardly consider it necessary, since we regard you simply 



THE SKIN. 169 

as a patient seeking to recover your health, and not one 
who is spending his or her time in love-making. 

THE SKIN. 

It is most essential for you to thoroughly understand 
the skin, its functions and the intimate relation it sustains 
to the internal skin, or mucous membrane, that lines the 
internal surface of all the passageways and organs of 
the entire body, and more especially the organs of the 
respiratory system, such as the nostrils, pharynx, 
larynx, bronchial tubes in all their ramifications till they 
terminate in the air cell itself. The skin is composed of 
two parts, the epidermis or cuticle, being the outer one. 
It is constructed of epithelial cells, which lie one upon 
the other in successive layers, which become more and 
more flattened as they approach the surface, where they 
are eventually worn off either by use or friction, the next 
layer taking their place on the surface. This process 
goes on indefinitely as long as life lasts. Its function is 
to serve as an external coat or protection to the derma, 
or true skin, as well as to regulate the evaporation of 
watery vapor that is, in a state of health, being con- 
tinually eliminated from the entire surface of the body. 
Immediately beneath this is found the derma, or true 
skin ; and it is to be especially noted that the nerve fila- 
ments known as the " sensitive papillae " are situated so 
prominently on its surface as to make it absolutely im- 
possible to reach its deeper parts without touching 
them. In this position, they are the first to come in con- 
tact with everything that can in any possible manner 
prove injurious to the organism. Thus, like millions of 
sentinels, they stand guard on the outer walls of the 
whole organism, giving warning signals to the nerve cen- 
tres and brain of all things with which they come in 
contact, as well as their nature, such as a blow, draught 
of air — either hot or cold, whether dry or wet. Also, 
when a person is suffering from severe cold, aching takes 
place, and finally, when the part becomes frozen, the con- 
dition is made known by numbness of the part. Thus, we 



170 GENERAL REMARKS. 

have what is termed the " sense of touch " in the skin, 
and in these little sensitive papilla it is located. Just 
beneath them are found the sweat and sebaceous glands 
and the hair follicles. The derma is made up of fibrous 
areolar tissue, blood vessels, lymphatics and nerves, and, 
as a whole, is decidedly elastic, which function serves to 
protect it from injury. The hair follicle is a little sac 
that contains the root of the hair. The sebaceous 
glands are found in the greatest number on the hairy 
parts of the body ; and, though their ducts sometimes 
make their exit on the free surface of the skin, they 
generally open into the hair follicles, and there discharge 
their fatty -like substance. The sweat glands are those 
little organs found in great abundance over almost every 
part of the surface of the body, and through which the 
perspiration and gaseous materials are thrown off. In 
round numbers, they have been computed to be about 
two millions three hundred thousand, or five hundred to 
the square inch. They are about one four-hundredth of 
an inch in diameter, and represent an evaporating sur- 
face of about eight square inches. And, like so many 
minute tubes or sewerage pipes, they penetrate nearly 
the entire depth of the skin — straight at first, then in a 
coil. All things being equal, we find the latter is uni- 
formly of one thickness over the whole body. Continual 
use of any one part, however, such as the palms of the 
hands and soles of the feet, causes it to thicken. 

From the foregoing it is evident that the skin should 
be kept scrupulously clean, in order to keep the 
mouths of the perspiratory glands free from debris, and 
in a condition to do their work without any great ex- 
penditure of vital force. When any part of it is rubbed, 
we notice it soon becomes much redder, thus caus- 
ing by friction a stimulation of the capillary circulation 
in that particular portion. Rubbing, however, not only 
affects these little blood vessels, but also all the per- 
spiratory and sebaceous glands as well, since the increased 
circulation to their surrounding tissue enables them to 
secure more nourishment. Hence, as they become 
stronger, their vital force is greatly increased. 



THE SKIN. 171 

The good results that occur from observing that rule 
are especially noticeable in the horse when kept clean. 
Then he is full of life and vigor — eyes bright, appetite 
enormous, digestion good, wind superb, and in spirit as 
playful as a kitten. On the other hand, if he is neglected, 
his coat becomes shabby, no matter how well he may 
be fed, his eyes become dull, appetite fitful, step heavy, 
wind poor, and, generally speaking, he soon ceases to be 
fine in appearance, and is known, in the parlance of the 
turf, as a "plug." To just the degree, then, that you 
keep the skin of your body clean will you aid its capillary 
circulation, the drainage of the perspiratory and sebace- 
ous glands, as well as the discharge of carbonic acid. It 
will also strengthen the whole integument, especially if 
friction is well applied to it, and make you far less liable 
to catch cold, for cold, of any nature whatever, is taken 
through its surface. It will also greatly facilitate the 
action of the internal skin or mucous membrane, since 
help to the one is sure to aid the other. Is it not evi- 
dent, then, that, if the secretions from the skin are in 
their discharge greatly aided by such means, that the 
vital force that would otherwise be used to accomplish 
the work would be saved, thus giving the person 
a feeling of sprightliness, health and strength % Then, 
keep the surface of the body scrupulously clean, 
and don't forget, as you go over every square inch of it, 
that you have there all of five hundred of those little 
perspiratory glands to keep in good order. See to 
the hairy parts, they always require the most attention. 
Immediately after rising in the morning take your flesh 
brush — one without a handle is best for every part of 
the body but the back, and you can, if you prefer, have 
one for that with a long handle — and go carefully over 
its whole surface, giving at least one-quarter of an hour 
to the work. If, at any time, you notice an eruption on 
any part of it, especially after taking medicine, never 
dare, under any circumstances, no matter who may 
advise it, put an external application on it, with a view 
to its cure, for, instead, it will simply cause its suppres- 
sion, and bad effects will result later on. Don't matter 



172 GENERAL REMARKS. 

how it looks. Better have it on your skin than in your 
lungs. 

FEVER 

In order for you to ascertain for a certainty whether 
you have fever or not, you should have a thermome- 
ter; one sufficient for your purpose will cost about $1.50. 
Then, when you feel flushed, weak, nervous and restless 
— day or night — take your temperature. Carefully place 
its bulb well back in the mouth, as far under the 
tongue as possible. Don't bite on it. Hold it 
rather with your lips, and let it remain there for the 
space of three minutes. The normal temperature is 
98^°, and anything higher than that indicates fever. 
After using, wash it clean in cold water ; be careful how 
you handle it, for it is very easily broken. If you find 
that you have fever, go to bed, and stay there until it has 
entirely disappeared. When present, there is under all 
circumstances a great loss of vital force going on, and 
during which time the recumbent position is the only 
proper one. The observance of this rule is of the utmost 
importance. No matter how you may otherwise feel, 
there should be no waste of vitality allowed by taking 
any physical exercise when you have it. Kest is 
just as necessary in your case as in any other form 
of fever. Bodily movement is dangerous in two ways : 
First, in having a tendency to aggravate the fever, by 
causing a greater oxidization of cellular tissue, as well as 
increasing the loss of vital force, and on account of these 
two facts any organic disease accompanied by it is likely 
to prove fatal. In all such severe forms as typhoid and 
yellow fever the recumbent position is absolutely neces- 
sary for a cure; otherwise, they would prove as fatal 
as pulmonary phthisis. Indeed, in the general run of 
all chronic diseases, even for the old varicose ulcerations 
of the feet and legs, the possibility of a cure is in propor- 
tion to the amount of absolute rest that the person 
takes. This accounts for the reason that the bedridden 
patient lasts so many years, and goes through during 



FEVER. 173 

that time, in the way of suffering, as is often remarked, 
what would have killed a strong man. This is one of 
the reasons why pulmonary phthisis, diabetes, and many 
cases of Bright's disease of the kidneys, when those 
patients are allowed to roam at large, as they usually 
are, and take any amount of physical exercise, causing 
a consequent great loss of vital force, have so far 
proved to be practically incurable. In typhoid fever, 
there is a lesion or ulceration in the bowels ; in pulmo- 
nary phthisis, a condition analogous to it is present in 
the form of a lesion and tubercles. If the recumbent 
position is good and necessary in the one case, why not 
in the other, especially when fever is present in both, 
as well as the organic diseased condition being in 
a manner similar, at least as far as a disintegration of 
cellular tissue is concerned ! Don't be afraid of losing 
your strength, for any such a loss will be confined to 
your muscular system, and not to the internal organs. 
Indeed, even if you do grow a little weak, and you find 
yourself a trifle shaky in the legs, it matters not, since 
your heart's action and your respiratory organs are cor- 
respondingly stronger ; or, in other words, the loss sus- 
tained by your legs will be a gain to your lungs. Don't 
worry, then, and think that you ought to be up and 
about in order to save your strength, for, as applied to 
your internal organs, any great use of the muscular system, 
is not necessary; and with your present knowledge of 
what vital force is, and its application to the general 
organims, you may complacently dismiss all such fears 
from the mind. If most people were only as fearful that 
their lungs would grow weak for want of exercise as they 
are that they might lose their muscular strength if they 
didn't use their limbs, we would hear very much 
less of pulmonary phthisis. What precious legs some 
people have, and such insignificant lungs ; and, when they 
come to regard exercise for the latter just as necessary as 
it is for their general muscular system, we will have 
gained what we contend for in this little work. 



174 GENERAL REMARKS. 



RaSMOKKHAGE FEOM THE LUNGS. 

If you have had blood-spitting, or haemorrhage, from 
the lungs, don't be afraid that the exercises for lung heal- 
ing will aggravate it or bring it on, as they are designed 
to cause a greater flow of the circulation in the lung 
tissue. We have never met with a case where it was 
superinduced by them — even when taking such a power- 
ful exercise as holding the breath. And yet it may be 
argued, on theoretical grounds, that such is likely to be 
the case. In answer we have but to say that all that is 
required of you, when taking those that we recommend, 
is not to over do them. While they are necessary in 
your case, as well as in all others, and should be followed 
up with all the pertinacity of an unyielding will, still it 
may be well for you, if disposed to blood-spitting, not to 
hold your breath, when taking the exercises, until you 
know for a certainty that your lungs have healed up and 
are quite strong. Following a haemorrhage at any time, 
suspend all of them till it has entirely ceased; for, 
though plenty of air has a tendency to help form a clot, 
still they might displace it. Begin again, however, 
with deep breathing only, and gradually resume all of 
the others as you find your lungs growing strong. Now, 
don't, if blood spitting occurs at any time after taking 
the exercises, attribute the attack to them, but just 
bear in mind that it is the diseased and weakened condi- 
tion of your lungs that is the only cause. Indeed, no 
matter what you may think to the contrary, by taking 
them frequently you will be far less liable to haemorrhage 
than you would without them. Don't attempt any of 
those given for lung development, as they are too 
powerful and not necessary. We know of physicians, 
who, when failing to cure their patients, always look 
around for some excuse — on the principle that their treat- 
ment is inf allible, and that the reason of their non-success 
lies in something the patient has done, and not on ac- 
count of a lack of skill on their part. We are well aware 
that they would not hesitate to say, if haemorrhage 
occurred following our exercises, that they were the 



SWEATING IN GENERAL. 175 

cause of it. By no means do we insinuate that doctors, 
as a rule, would do so, for we know they would not; 
for any one, whose advice is worth following in matters 
as grave as this, would say that haemorrhage from the 
lungs may set in at any time when once a person is 
predisposed to it, and even more likely to occur when 
no exercises are taken than it is to follow those we recom- 
mend. Take no advice that savors of antiquated notions 
concerning pulmonary phthisis for they have never been 
of any service in the way of a cure. Old methods have 
failed to eradicate this disease; and they will not heal 
you now, as you will find to your chagrin and dismay 
later on if you depend on them. 



SWEATING IN GENERAL. 

If you dress as we have advised, and, as a result, you 
find yourself perspiring, do not conclude that sweating 
is of itself weakening, and so hasten to throw off part of 
your clothing, for such conclusions are wrong. When 
it takes place during a severe sickness, it is not the 
continued perspiration, even if it is protracted, that 
causes weakness, but rather the disease of which the 
former is but a prominent symptom. So, when chill, fever 
and sweat occur, the latter condition is simply an expres- 
sion, so to speak, of that complaint, and not the disease 
itself. In all cases of fever, no matter how high it may 
run, and perspiration is present, it helps to lower the 
temperature ; still, if it did not set in, or was suppressed, 
in any way it would most assuredly go higher. We 
have noticed in the marasmus of infants that, when 
ever it appeared, the little patients always made a 
prompt and surprisingly quick recover} 7 , where they had 
otherwise been in the lowest possible condition. Where 
sweating is general, no less than two million three hun- 
dred thousand sweat glands are involved in the process 
of throwing out that secretion, often laden with effete 
matter of such a character as to give off a foul odor. So, 
we can readily understand the possibility of nature's re- 



176 GENERAL REMARKS. 

sorting to this method to relieve such internal organs as 
the kidneys and mucous membrane of the lungs. 

Indeed, when it comes on in all kinds of fever and 
severe diseases, it is generally regarded as a favorable 
symptom rather than otherwise, even though it should 
continue uninterruptedly for weeks at a time, which fre- 
quently occurs without ill effects, notwithstanding the 
patient's otherwise low condition. And, as is often the 
case, such patients not only hold their own, but actually 
gain in strength and appetite. In hot climates either a 
well person or an invalid may sweat most of the time, 
and yet not grow weaker as a result. On the contrary, 
if one has just made a change of climate on account 
of his health, he will, notwithstanding he perspires more 
than at home, be benefited rather than harmed. So, 
when a patient is suffering from pulmonary phthisis, he 
finds himself generally relieved when able to live out of 
doors and perspire a great deal; while, in the winter, 
when in a good part of his time, and perspiration 
only occurs in the form of a night sweat, then he grows 
rapidly worse. All things considered, you should not re- 
gard the latter as detrimental, since it may, on the 
contrary, be utilized to great advantage when properly 
regulated. We know that when a person having any 
form of pulmonary disease awakes in the night, and finds 
he had a severe sweat, he jumps at the conclusion that it 
is the cause of his f eeling so weak. In this he is wrong, 
for it is his disease, considered as a whole, that accounts 
for it, and not the sweat. The excessive weakness is owing 
to the great loss of vital force expended in the operation of 
no less than two million three hundred thousand perspira- 
tory glands that throw off the sweat, since even that process 
requires power to operate it. Now, the question natur- 
ally arises, since perspiring is a natural sequence to fever, 
and phthisical patients generally have more or less of it — 
if the night sweat is not induced by nature, not only to 
reduce the latter, but to relieve the system of such im- 
purities as the lungs, kidneys and mucous membrane of 
the internal organs are unable to throw off on account of 
a loss of vital force in those organs — since it is evident 



SWEATING IN GENERAL. 177 

that they must be disposed of, and they being unable 
to do it, why not resort to the artificial process of put- 
ting on sufficient clothing to keep a general perspiration 
going on all the time, instead of having a severe sweat 
every night followed through the day by the opposite or 
positive condition of having all the perspiratory glands 
of the whole surface of the body contracted ? For any 
aid given to them in their work is to save just so much 
vital force. 

Clothed, then, in such a manner will turn winter into 
summer, or a cold climate into a warm one. It will 
make the patient want to remain out of doors as much 
as possible even in severe weather, since he will feel more 
comfortable there ; otherwise, he will be sure to stay in*. 
Dressing properly will also prevent him from catching- 
cold, as well as from being made the victim of every 
little change in the weather. It will also enable most 
sensitive people to take a bath without ill effects. We 
know a physician who, when young, contracted pulmon- 
ary phthisis, if the diagnosis of quite a number of his 
brother physicians was correct. As a result they de- 
clared that he was doomed. By way of experiment, he 
then put on no less than three flannel suits one upon the 
other, and by these measures kept up a continuous 
gentle perspiration for months without any feeling of 
weakness occurring from it. In this way he eventually 
cured himself. One heavy suit was worn every night 
with his night clothes, and removed in the morning. 
Cold baths and moderate exercise sufficient to stimulate 
the perspiration were also prescribed. Very warm 
shoes were worn in the house as well as out-doors, and 
special stress laid upon the advisability of making the 
feet sweat as much as possible. Thus, you see the neces- 
sity of never suppressing foot sweat by using any appli- 
cation externally for that purpose. Li taking your cold 
baths be guided by what has been said on that matter in 
another chapter. 

If you wear sufficient clothing after it, there is no 
doubt but what you can take even a cold one, unless 
your reaction is very poor. 



178 GENERAL REMARKS. 



CONSTIPATION. 



It is no proof that you are constipated because your 
bowels do not move regularly, since that condition can 
only occur when you have eaten a normal amount of food 
without a corresponding natural movement. If, how- 
ever, you eat no more food in a week than you otherwise 
would in a day, and have, as a result, only one good 
action during that time, then you are not constipated by 
any means. As a matter of cause and effect, how could 
you be? Moreover, if you are living on liquid foods, 
which contain from eighty to ninety per cent, of water, 
most of which is eliminated by the kidneys, skin and 
lungs, how could you reasonably expect to have your 
bowels move as frequently as when you subsist on food 
containing three to four times that quantity of material ? 
Tou certainly can't take out of a jug what you don't put 
in; neither can you have a natural movement of the 
bowels without you eat a sufficient amount of food 
to bring it about. Yet, we frequently meet with people 
and even physicians, who seem to think that they 
must have an action every day, whether they eats or not. 
This is so manifestly nonsensical as to seem to call for 
no serious discussion whatever, and yet, as patients suf- 
fering from pulmonary troubles frequently make the 
fatal mistake of taking purgatives, we feel constrained 
to point out a few facts concerning this whole question. 
It may be asserted that, no matter how little food has 
been partaken, since a corresponding amount of faeces 
is lodged in the colon or lower bowel, it should, after a 
reasonable length of time, say — twenty-four hours — be 
removed ere it can do any mischief. But why should it, 
seeing the quantity is too small to stimulate the necessary 
peristaltic action for its discharge? To assert that it 
should, even if such an artificial means as the use of a 
cathartic had to be resorted to, would be to infer that, 
notwithstanding nature's skilled use of the atom in the 
construction of the human organism, she had made no 
provision for the proper removal of small quantities of 
faeces in the colon, and so the wisdom of theory must 



CONSTIPATION. 179 

come to the rescue with a cyclone purgative, and expel 
it, and not trust to her in a matter of such gigantic im- 
portance. Indeed, it has been in this particular region 
that professional egotism has long been paying homage 
to ignorance, while nature, with a lofty air of disdain, has 
been relegated to the kindergarten of the nursery until 
such time as she becomes learned in the windy theories 
of man, and acts accordingly. Understand, before you 
go any further, just how an action of the bowels is 
brought about: When a sufficient amount of faeces 
has accumulated in the colon, causing its full normal 
distention, its presence is thus make known to the 
brain, which immediately responds with the neces- 
sary force of vibration to bring about the required 
movement, and it is discharged. When, however, the 
amount is small, and the distention is either none 
at all or very slight, then little or no peristaltic motion 
takes place, and the contents remain. Suppose it does, 
what then ? Stoppage or blood poisoning is the medi- 
aeval echo. The former, you should know, is a mechanical 
trouble called " intussusception," or one part of the bowel 
doubled on itself, and fitting into the other like a plug. 
You can see then that, when the bowel is packed, 
it would really be physically impossible for the above con- 
dition to occur, since the mass lodged there would keep 
it distended, and thus prevent that disturbance from 
taking place. Thus, obstinate constipation should most 
effectually quiet your fears on that point, rather than 
stimulate them. As for poisoning the system, that also 
is practically impossible, since, without the air could get 
at the stool, we don't see how it could decompose. 
Indeed, the so-called wind in the bowels is a gas pure 
and simple, and will burn as readily as coal gas when set 
on fire. Again, since the digestive fluids are decidedly 
antiseptic, and the food had been well saturated with 
them, it is evident that the contents of the colon still re- 
tains a sufficient amount of it to keep them from decom- 
posing for an indefinite period. We have previously 
pointed out that the stomach and small intestines are or- 
gans for the digestion of food, and, as such, they are in 



180 GENERAL REMARKS. 

no manner whatever to be considered as a sewerage uti- 
lized by the system for carrying off its refuse matter ; 
and, while it may be good practice in some cases to flush 
them with water, they should never be subjected to the 
action of any kind of physic. The colon, or lower bowel, 
on the other hand, is particularly adapted for the recep- 
tion of the stool, which is just as natural, neat and sweet 
in its place when that organ is in a state of health as 
the gastric juice is in the stomach, the saliva in the 
mouth, or the wax in the ear. In a normal state of health 
it may never need cleaning out. In all chronic diseases, 
however, such as pulmonary phthisis, it is an organ that 
requires special and diligent attention. 

But how do you propose to cleanse it ? Suppose you 
wished to wash out a vessel, would you think for a moment 
of attempting to do it with physic ? Would it be wisdom 
on your part to bathe the surface of your body with the 
latter for the purpose of refreshing it ? If not then 
an improvement upon the use of water for the external 
skin, why should it be used as a substitute on the internal 
skin or mucous membrane ? You have an idea that, after 
taking physic, it "runs amuck" through the stomach, 
small intestines and colon, penetrating, percolating 
through, and dissolving the contents of those organs, 
scouring as with a scrubbing brush, effacing and rinsing 
as it goes, till finally, having liquefied the whole contents — 
stool, dirt and accumulated bile and filth — the bowels are 
discharged, leaving them clean and sweet. Yet nothing 
could be further from the truth. By the way, when you 
take a dry cathartic pill, where does the excessive amount 
of liquid come from that accompanies the discharge? 
Just here let us ascertain definitely how it works in 
order to bring about the desired renovation. After 
taken, it acts primarily upon the nerve filaments that 
supply the stomach and bowels. Being abnormal, the ac- 
tion of its atoms, in the form of vibrations, is transmitted 
to the brain, which at once responds with vibrations of 
a like character, causing the secretory glands of the bow- 
els to discharge an unnatural quantity of watery secre- 
tion, which lubricates and liquefies their contents, as well 



CONSTIPATION. 181 

as stimulating a great increase of peristaltic movement, 
and thus the contents are voided. We have said that 
the action of physic is abnormal, and I doubt that 
its most enthusiastic devotee or admirer would for 
a moment say it had a natural action. But how 
are we to cure one abnormal condition by causing 
another? Knowing that like begets like, could that 
be possible ? There is still another important fact not to 
be lost sight of in this matter ; that is, that the character 
of the discharge is almost, if not wholly, owing to the 
kind of physic taken and never to the state of the system. 
Thus, ipecacuanha, when a sufficient quantity is used, 
will cause a grass-green discharge; rhubarb a deep 
yellow evacuation ; while aloes, podophyllin and calomel 
— the quack favorite compound — will cause a dark, muddy 
and bilious-looking diarrhoea, the appearance of which 
generally convinces the patient that he has been most 
effectually cleaned out. Seeing with him is believing, 
and evidence of sight worth more than the logic of 
reason. 

Now, without there is a discharge of liquid from the 
system into the colon, there could be no movement. 
The former, then, is the prime factor, for, as it accumu- 
lates there, it causes a distention of the intestines, thus 
bringing about the necessary peristaltic motion. If a 
liquid like water is required to move the bowels, why, 
then, resort to physic, when identically the same purpose 
can be even more effectually accomplished by its use as 
an enema? "When constipation is incidental to some 
disturbance of the digestive organs, it may right itself in 
a few days without any interference ; if chronic, minute 
doses of the appropriate remedy will very often bring 
prompt and permanent relief. Those who have never 
had any experience or success in the treatment of this 
trouble with medicine in that form are not qualified to 
either affirm or deny its efficacy, and modesty should, at 
least, lead them to say so. Flushing the colon in either 
of the above conditions may suffice quite as well. When, 
however, the system is afflicted with some such organic 
disease as pulmonary phthisis, then cleansing it out is 



182 GENERAL REMARKS. 

in many cases an absolute necessity — yet as a mere 
minor aid in its general treatment — though it is not at all 
required if the action of the bowels be normal. Who has 
not heard people say that they have taken physic at 
regular intervals for years with no apparent harm. 
This may be true in a measure, but invariably we find 
this very class of persons delicate and with what was 
evidently an otherwise rugged condition often seriously 
undermined, and they may continue it, as long as no 
organic disease of any part of the body is present, with- 
out anything more than the above-mentioned effects oc- 
curring. But when the latter condition does come, then 
the diseased organs, being the most negative, receive 
the full force of the constitutional action of the physic in 
the form of abnormal vibration stimulated by its action 
and the destructive process is thus always hastened 
rather than retarded. The harm is usually unwittingly 
done, for the person who depended on it where there was 
no severe disease present is the very one to repeatedly 
resort to it when such an organic complaint as pulmonary 
phthisis supervenes. And thus, with them, its use is 
equivalent to a slow but sure method of committing 
suicide. Don't, then, let the mediaeval " bugaboo " or the 
quacks " jacks-in-the-box " of such grim possibilities as 
stoppage and blood poisoning, etc., frighten you into 
becoming a customer for that death-dealing nostrum 
— physic. 

Water is nature's universal solvent and remedy for 
all renovating purposes, and you have but to resort to its 
proper use to successfully accomplish, by an enema of it, 
the removal of all deleterious elements from the colon 
that may possibly lodge there, and not otherwise be 
discharged by the usual movement of the bowels. 

There is probably no time during a person's life when 
the colon is free of faeces, more especially when in a per- 
fect state of health, and yet it occasions no harm. On 
the contrary, disease is more likely to come from keeping 
the bowels empty, for since in health their distention is 
a necessity that can only take place by a normal amount 
of the stool collecting there. The colon, to be sure, may 



CONSTIPATION. 183 

be greatly relaxed, and its contents discharged by the 
action of purgatives ; still, this abnormal relaxation fol- 
lowed by an unnatural contraction is the most prevalent 
of all causes of constipation. If you have a constant dis- 
tressing urging and pressure that not only causes piles, 
headache, backache, loss of appetite, all of which is un- 
doubtedly owing to a sympathetic disturbance caused by 
impaction of the lower bowel, then use as a prompt relief, 
and the least harmful of any that you can resort to, an 
enema of warm water. Always keep on hand a two-quart 
fountain syringe, and fill it, when needed, with warm 
water — never hot — but of such a temperature as will per- 
mit you to hold your hand in it for any length of time. 
Hang it about four feet above your head, and take it 
either while lying on your left side or sitting — the latter 
is generally the most convenient position. Oil the nozzle 
well, and pass it into the anus gently, never forcibly. If 
it does not flow readily, turn it around, draw it part way 
out, then insert it again. Hold the enema, if possible, a 
few minutes. Don't mind a little griping ; it will cease 
as soon as it causes the necessary movement, which is 
usually prompt and effective. While we consider this the 
best possible method to relieve the bowels, we do not ad- 
vise you to resort to its use daily. Eather take such other 
measures as will aid in bringing about a natural move- 
ment. When you use the flesh-brush, for instance, over 
the bowels, pass it from right to left, describing a circle, 
and you will then conform to the correct position of the 
colon, and so stimulate its peristaltic movement. You 
can also knead the entire abdomen gently, as well as slap 
its whole surface briskly with the palm of the hand. An 
excellent practice is to work the anus up and down volun- 
tarily. Try it before you get up every morning for about 
ten minutes, even though the action is deferred for some 
hours. There is a saying amongst the sporting frater- 
nity that the man who takes physic when training is sure 
to lose the contest. You, while fighting for your life, 
should bear that adage in mind, and under no circum- 
stances whatever resort to its use. The harm it does is 
not the merely expelling the stool in a hurry, but by 



184 GENERAL REMARKS. 

causing an excessive loss of vitality ; first, in eradicating 
the drug from the system ; secondly, from causing an ex- 
cessive loss of secretion, which can only be replaced at 
the expense of the whole organism. The waste of vital 
force that occurs then is accountable for the weak feeling 
that follows any artificial movement of the bowels. If, 
after all has been said on the question, you still continue 
to take physic, and find yourself gradually approaching 
the Unknown Shore, don't, as the truth in all its signif- 
icance flashes across your mind, blame Heaven, or call 
yourself the victim of some unmerciful fate that rules 
your destiny without a conscience ; for, as is generally the 
case, man unconsciously works out his own fate in days 
either short or long. Sad and untimely, indeed, it often 
is when ignorance, egotism, prejudice and a weak will 
stand like so many grim spectres at the helm of his 
being, ever steering for the shoals and breakers in sight. 
Sublime, however, when wisdom, tutored by knowledge 
and a will of adamantine character, grasps the helm with 
no uncertain hand, and pilots him safely into the harbor 
of long life. You are your own pilot ; take heed, then, 
of the warning lights along the shore that flash their 
gleams the stronger where danger threatens the most. 

DIAKEHOEA. 

If diarrhoea sets in at any time, don't try to check it 
by the free use of drugs, for any ordinary attack of that 
complaint will not do your system as much harm, or its 
ill effects be as long lasting, as the positive injury that 
will result from them. Then, as you value every chance 
that is yours of ultimate recovery, don't destroy even one 
of them by taking into your system, for the purpose of 
controling the above-mentioned trouble, any such drug as 
opium, cholera mixtures, camphor, astringents, ginger, 
paregoric, laudanum, chalk mixtures, or any of the 
hundred-and-one things that will be recommended to 
you. We are aware that this condition should be relieved 
in the shortest possible space of time, like any other inci- 
dental disturbance, but we are emphatically opposed to 



BATHS. 185 

drugging, on account of the fact that in pulmonary 
phthisis, seemingly above all other diseases, it does more 
harm to the system than any incidental attack of diarrhoea 
possibly could do, by way of lessening very materially 
the patient's chances of recovery. Moreover, if once 
relieved by any such means, it only teaches the patient 
to have recourse to it again and again, until serious 
injury is thus done to the system. Now, generally, such 
attacks are simple, lasting, at most, but two or three 
days, and require, in the way of relief, perfect quiet and 
exclusive diet of scalded milk. If it should become quite 
protracted — as it sometimes will, though rarely when 
the milk diet is persisted in — the proper thing to do is to 
call in your physician, and, if he is given to understand 
that you have regulated your habits, and are in all ways 
living a perfectly natural life, with a view to bringing 
about a cure of your lung disease, he will employ no 
palliative means, but simply prescribe for you minute 
doses of the indicated remedy ; and thus, while giving 
you prompt relief, as far as the mere looseness is con- 
cerned, do nothing in the way of drugging that will react 
upon your lungs in a harmful manner. In the last stages 
of pulmonary phthisis, patients are frequently troubled 
with a very severe diarrhoea, which may call for palliative 
treatment ; that is understood. 

BATHS. 

Regarding the question of bathing, we would warn 
you to faithfully adhere to the following rules con- 
cerning it. If you are full-blooded, have a good reac- 
tion and come out of your bath in a glow, and feel 
strong and well after it, then you may safely continue 
them. To get its best possible effects, you should first 
go carefully over the entire surface of your body with a 
flesh brush, and rub it till you look as red as a boiled 
lobster, and then take it at least cool, never hot. If all of 
your symptons are aggravated, however, and indications 
of a fresh cold appear, then you should suspend it alto- 
gether, and rely on the flesh brush and a simple sponge 



18G GENERAL REMARKS. 

bath, followed by rubbing your body over with alcohol 
and water, half and half. In your condition it would 
never do for you to attempt the Turkish, Kussian, elec- 
tric, magnetic or even sulphur baths. In the summer, 
when the weather is extremely warm, if your reaction is 
prompt, you may safely venture to take sea baths, 
though never when tired, exhausted or debilitated by 
pulmonary phthisis. When you go into the surf with 
company, no matter whether ladies or gentlemen, don't 
for a moment suppose that etiquette obliges you to re- 
main in as long as they do. This is a matter concerning 
your health and not good breeding. We have frequently 
seen full-blooded persons remain in the water for an 
hour at a time, and yet come out looking as red as 
magenta, while five minutes is often all that more deli- 
cate persons can stand. Be guided rather by the effect 
it has upon you. On going into the water, at first 
you get chilled ; this is followed by a reaction, and you 
feel a warm glow pervade your whole system. Now, you 
may safely remain in till you feel this warmth receding, 
then come out at once. Never wait till you are chilled 
the second time ; if you do, it will surely prove harm- 
ful rather than beneficial. A mere, quick dip will be 
best at first, and a continuation of it depends on the 
benefit you receive. If you feel not only tired, but 
weak and much depressed, and rally slowly from its 
effects, and have to resort to stimulants to overcome 
weakness, then don't repeat it. In fact, if you are ill 
from any cause, tiy the effects of a sponge bath of sea 
water every day for a week before you venture in. Or, 
better still, put on a bathing suit and walk up and down 
the beach. For this purpose have your clothing suffi- 
ciently thin in texture to admit the cool sea breezes to 
come in contact with every part of your body. Go 
barefooted, if the beach is smooth enough. If you have 
been spitting blood, or have a bad cough, then don't try 
the surf, but depend entirely on a flesh brush and the 
sponge bath. Don't for a moment sit in the damp sand 
while watching the bathers. 



CLOTHING. 187 



CLOTHING. 



Most patients who have either weak or diseased lungs 
seem to think that the proper way for them to dress is to 
wear a great abundance of clothing on the thorax, and, 
by doing so, thus reduce to a minimum any possibility of 
catching cold on their lungs, or in any manner whatever 
aggravating the diseased condition already existing there. 
As a result, we frequently meet them bundled up in the 
following manner : One thick, heavy, woolen undershirt — 
a double-breasted white one — chest protector — newspaper 
over this — as well as the usual vest, coat, and when out of 
doors an overcoat, w T hile the lower extremities are simply 
protected by an ordinary pair of drawers and pants, and 
likely as not a thin pair of stockings and shoes. In this 
rig they fancy they are properly dressed, even for a bliz- 
zard, and yet, when we recall all the facts connected with 
the question of just how we catch cold, the absurdity of 
a person clothing his body in any such a manner will be 
ludicrously apparent. One great objection to wrap- 
ping the thorax up in this manner is that it restricts its 
normal action by seriously interfering with proper lung 
breathing and expansion, besides weighing down the 
shoulders with too much of a load. 

You are to dress, then, if you properly understand 
the full significance of the matter, so as to protect the 
whole surface of the body in a uniform manner, giving 
no preference to any one part more than another, the 
clothing on the chest to be uniformly as warm as that on 
other parts of the body, but no more so. It should be 
made of light, warm material, and sufficiently loose to 
permit a full and free action of the thorax when the 
lungs are exercised to their maximum capacity. Begin- 
ning with the head, better wear your hair a little long 
rather than have it too short, as it is nature's best pro- 
tection for that part of the anatomy. Never have it cut 
close ; and under no circumstances should you wet it, as 
that is one of the most prevalent causes of catching cold. 
If partially bald, always carry in your pocket a silk cap, 
and put it on when you have occasion to take your hat 



188 GENEEAL REMAKES. 

off. This is admissible in any company and at any time 
and place. Keep your neck cool, and never wrap it up 
with anything. In winter a turned-down collar is the 
best. As for your thorax, don't put plasters on any 
part of it, since each and every one of them covers and 
thus prevents the normal action of no less than one hun- 
dred thousand perspiratory glands, and so the good it 
might do in one way is offset by the harm it is sure to do 
in the other. They also weaken the integument, or skin, 
and thus make its nerve papillae too negative. For 
under-clothing, first put on warm shirt and drawers, and 
over them a full suit of perforated buckskin underwear. 
This suit is indispensable to the person having weak or 
diseased lungs, especially in the winter, or when the 
weather is damp and changeable. Always get the suit at 
least one or two sizes larger than for which your meas- 
urement calls. For outer garments avoid shoddy goods ; 
they are not warm, and yet very heavy. All clothing 
that covers your body should be made of light, warm 
material, loose enough to permit egress and ingress of 
air to the skin. Wear also two pairs of stockings — one 
of balbriggan and the other of wool. They should be 
changed every day, especially if you are troubled with 
cold, damp, clammy, sweating feet, that make you feel 
that the stockings are sticking to them. 

Thick-soled shoes should be worn. Keep two pairs on 
hand, and change them every day. By so doing they 
will always be perfectly dry, and so prove a decided com- 
fort. When you have occasion to go oub in cold, wet 
weather, put on dry warm shoes. Don't dress when 
you do go merely for appearances. 

In all cases where the apex of the lungs is diseased, 
the suspenders should be laid aside, even if you have to 
resort to the undignified method of actually hitching up 
your pants. By doing so, you will not only relieve the 
shoulders, but free the thorax of weight, as well as per- 
mit a full opportunity for involuntary lung expansion. 
Don't, however, wear a tight belt around your waist. No 
matter what may have otherwise been said on this ques- 
tion, abdominal breathing is the correct one, as the whole 



ladies' clothing. 189 

power and expansion of the lungs are brougnt into play ; 
and so, under no circumstances, should you resort to any 
method of holding up your pants that will prevent it to 
its fullest extent. The position of the diaphragm and its 
downward movement shows this to be true from an 
anatomical standpoint. Moreover, as a matter of fact, 
all animals breathe in that way, and the larger their 
lungs the more so. Even when tubercles first appear, 
they are invariably in the apex of either one of the 
lungs, or those parts that are exercised the least, while 
their base that is exercised the most, and where the 
expansion is the greatest, is usually the part that is 
invaded last, if at all. 

In fact, patients frequently die of pulmonary 
phthisis without the base of their lungs being at all in- 
volved in the disease. We have spoken of how you 
should dress when living in a cold climate, or a very 
changeable one. If you should make a change of cli- 
mate, dress there warm enough to enable you to live an 
out-door life, and not be at all affected by any possible 
change in the weather that may occur. 

LADIES' CLOTHING. 

It is not our purpose to go into a homily on the fol- 
lies of fashion. Your lungs are weak and diseased ; your 
life may be in jeopardy ; your hope, prayer and desire are 
that you regain your health. Such being the case, we 
are bound to recognize your disease, and not your per- 
sonal taste or desires, in the matter of dress, any more 
than in that of diet and habits. 

The most that is required of you is to adjust your 
garments to your form in such a manner as to make 
thoracic and abdominal breathing free from all possible 
restrictions. All your clothing should be made of the 
best — light, warm, closely-woven — material. This is imper- 
ative, for both a loss of vital capacity and vital force calls 
for exercise, and exercise in any way burdened is farcical 
in the extreme. Wear the union undergarments or com- 
bination suits, one of balbriggan, another of flannel and 



190 GENERAL REMARKS. 

over that a full suit of perforated buckskin underwear. 
Thus clothed, you can live the necessary outdoor life in 
almost any kind of weather. Discard the corset, and 
substitute in its place the Bates' Health Waist. As Dr. A. 
B. Stockham, author of " Tokology," says, this waist is 
really a thing of beauty ; is equable in warmth, supports the 
skirts, offers no restriction to circulation, digestion or re- 
spiration, and supports the bosom better than any corset. 
The fault with so many of the other so-called health 
waists is that they are practically half corsets, being 
made with either bones, steels or cords, and thus do not 
give the desired freedom of the one above mentioned. 
Don't dress to particularly display the contour of your 
form. The day is happily past when the wasp-like 
waist is considered beautiful, if it ever were. Cer- 
tainly it is the product of female fancy rather than of 
male admiration, for it is to be seriously doubted whether 
men of taste ever regarded it an acquisition to a lady's 
beauty. It is too artificial, and is suggestive of frailty, 
weakness, disease and doctor's bills, while a woman 
naturally developed generally has health, sprightliness, 
bright eyes, red lips and cheeks, vivacity of manner and 
good nature. No great work of art was ever yet given 
to the world that immortalized the human form but that 
w r as made to strictly conform to the rest of the body in 
size, the small waist and broad shoulders being always 
regarded as a deformity. In seeking to regain your 
health, then, all idea. of trying to restrict the size of the 
former should be abandoned, and a full, free and natural 
development of the whole thorax and abdomen be encour- 
aged. Those diseases peculiar to women are often inten- 
sified by their method of dressing, causing headache, 
backache, bearing down, nervousness, constipation, as 
well as other disturbances of a great variety, always 
causing a great loss of vital force, and everything is to 
be done to stop waste in this direction, as well as in all 
others. There should be no padding whatever to repre- 
sent the bust, or any thing worn for that purpose. If you 
are flat-chested, any such packing only intensifies it and 
prevents development. Hold your chest out by voluntary 



ladies' clothing. 191 

effort, and keep it there, and in time you will find it 
growing more and more full. To develop the bust, we 
would advise much manipulation and repeated applications 
of sweet oil. It should be applied at least every night. 
Never wet your hair when combing it. Use the hair 
brush vigorously, and you can keep it not only glossy, 
but clean. 

You are to consider favorable conditions for the 
lungs, and not for any display of your form. Wear al] 
garments loose then, and don't put a tight-fitting dress 
over the proper kind of undergarments. 

In these days a lady must be indeed hard to please, if 
among the very many — even elegant— dresses that are 
made loose-fitting, such as morning gowns, wrappers and 
tea gowns, she can find nothing that becomes her. In 
fact, all of them, when trimmed with taste and selected 
in color to harmonize with her figure, style, height and 
complexion, are very pretty. The ladies always look 
charming in them, and they are suitable for any occasion 
that requires their presence — whether the dining room, 
parlor or out of doors. Never wear your dress low- 
necked, not even for one evening. There can be no event 
that calls for you to celebrate at the risk of your health, 
happiness and, maybe, life. As for your feet, they should 
be protected with a heavy-soled pair of shoes. Keep two 
pairs on hand, and alternate them every other day, if you 
would always keep them warm and dry. Have them al- 
ways large enough to admit free capillary circulation. If 
the weather be wet or cold, then put on rubbers or over- 
shoes. Don't look at your feet and think they are im- 
mense. Anyway, even big-looking feet, bright eyes and 
the flush of health upon your face make a far more ele- 
gant combination than small feet, dull eyes and a color- 
less, haggard countenance. As for just how the former 
may look to others, you are not to think of that, for any 
one who is impudent enough to consider them, and judge 
you from such a low standpoint, is not worthy of a 
thought on your part. As a patient, you are to dress for 
health, and nothing else. In hot weather the perforated 
buckskin suit is not necessary. The heavy underwear 



192 GENERAL REMARKS. 

may then be exchanged for lighter. Be ever on the alert, 
and meet all sudden changes with suitable clothing. 
Good judgment in all these matters is necessary. 

YOUK BEDBOOM. 

Your sleeping room should be a large, well-ventilated 
apartment, having a southern or southwestern exposure, 
in a house situated well back from the street, so as to 
prevent much dust from entering it. Don't sleep in one 
of those dark rooms into which the sunshine never 
enters. Indeed, such death traps in tenement houses 
should be strictly prohibited by law. They are 
undoubtedly the cause of a thousand times more sick- 
ness than any and all of those contagious diseases which 
occasionally are brought to our shores from foreign lands. 
To ward off the latter dire possibilities, our laws are 
rigidly enforced and money lavishly expended, but 
against this gigantic evil that is nestling among us in a 
million and one places nothing is done. The poor die — 
the landlord waxes rich. In hospitals it has long been 
noticed, and many times verified, that, in those wards 
situated on the side of the buildings that permitted the 
least sunshine to enter, the death rate was always notice- 
ably the largest. So marked was this, indeed, that all 
of them in these days are planned and built in such a 
manner as to enable the sunshine to enter every ward for 
at least a part of the day. It has further been ascer- 
tained by repeated experiments that if rabbits are kept 
in a dark room they die inside of six weeks with pulmo- 
nary phthisis. A great abundance of sunshine, as well as 
fresh air, is indispensable for your sleeping room. To 
make the ventilation perfect there should be a small flue 
about three inches in diameter running from the floor 
downwards into the chimney, since carbonic acid not 
only sinks like a liquid to the floor, but will also run off 
like water, provided an exit for it be thus properly con- 
structed. Even the fireplace fails to accomplish this 
desired result without there is quite a strong draught, 
which is not always present. Leaving the door open 



YOUR BEDROOM. 193 

sufficiently will enable it to pass readily into the hall and 
down the stairs, or a hole about four inches in diameter, 
cut through the lowest part of the door, will answer very 
nicely in conjunction with the flue leading into the chim- 
ney, as all that is needed is a slight draught in that 
direction to keep the apartment entirely free of it. 

To also provide for an exit of all animal matter 
and moisture that is thrown off by your lungs and the 
surface of your body, the transom over your door should 
be wide open, and your window let down all the way 
from the top. In order, moreover, that the purity of the 
air of your room may not be contaminated, either day or 
night, you must avoid having in it any odorous sub- 
stances that will impregnate its atmosphere. 

Some people think that, because their room is furnished 
nicely, and everything about them is pleasant to the 
sight, that its air must also be pure. This is far from 
being the case. We have been in the room of a physi- 
cian who made a specialty of throat disease, when every 
breath inhaled was like drinking the fumes of concen- 
trated pestilence, so horribly vile was it, and yet to the 
eye all things were pleasing. It is not an infrequent 
thing to go into a patient's sleeping room, and, after a 
little investigation, find that the air thought to be pure 
was simply a decoction of carbonic acid, animal matter 
and moisture exhaled by the lungs and pores of the skin, 
camphor from trunks and closet, sachet powder from every 
article of clothing in the bureau, emanations from a 
bouquet of flowers in the last stages of decay, perhaps 
the cork out of the ammonia bottle, gas jet leaking, 
perfumery ad libitum^ over everything, as well as a 
foul smell from a little bunch of rags, into which the per- 
son had been expectorating. Pure air ! Why, it would 
take more than all out-doors to ventilate such a place. 
Turn the head of your bed to the north. Don't place 
it over in one corner, if you can avoid it, nor stand it in 
such a position as to cause any draught that may occur 
to strike you while sleeping. Have a double bedstead if 
possible. Never sleep on a feather bed. A cotton or 
hair mattress is the best. See to it that the spring is a 



194 GENERAL REMARKS. 

good one, for you should never overlook anything that 
will facilitate rest and sleep. When you get up in the 
morning, turn down your bedclothes, and let them hang 
over the foot board ; then open all the windows of your 
room, in order that it may have a good airing while you 
are down at breakfast. Put about a half bushel of 
charcoal in a box under the bedstead. It will help to 
keep the air free of carbonic acid and other bad odors 
that may at times accumulate when you are not on your 
guard. Don't allow the stand by the side of your bed 
to be heaped up with freshly printed papers, maga- 
zines, pamphlets and other periodicals, or even have them 
in your room, and then you will not be troubled with the 
odor that comes from them, no matter how slight it may 
be. Make your room just as cosy, homelike, comfort- 
able and pleasant as possible. It is not necessary that 
the floor should be covered with woolen carpet ; on the 
contrary, straw matting is the cleaner and healthier, 
as it does not absorb odors, hold dust and retain them, 
as carpets do. 

Tou may have by your bedside a small woolen rug 
to stand on while dressing in the morning. It should be 
thoroughly shaken out and aired at least twice a week. 
A nice, comfortable cane-seated rocker should be in the 
room. Have hanging on the walls a few pleasant pictures, 
but nothing to suggest to the sight and mind death and 
sorrow, such as the Crucifixion. No matter what your 
religious belief may be, you are not expected to do it 
any more than you would to look for them in a hospital ; 
for, in many respects, your room is your hospital, espe- 
cially while you are a patient. Keep it then always 
looking neat and orderly, if you wish to have it inviting 
and homelike ; for, if untidy, it will have a depressing 
influence on you, and make you feel that you would like 
to get away from it. Place your flesh brush on the table 
by your bedside, so as to be seen when you awake in the 
morning. If you do, you will use it ; otherwise, if you 
have to search for it, you will fall into the error of only 
using it occasionally. The same with your washstand. 
Keep all the articles upon it neat, and your tooth-brush 



SLEEP. 195 

always in sight. Never disinfect your room with car- 
bonic acid. If you have occasion to use a disinfect- 
ant, let it be one of the chlorides. They are excellent to 
spray the room with when the air seems oppressive or 
heavy. Take off all the clothing that you have worn 
during the day, and, if still perspiring, rub yourself dry 
with a turkish towel, and put on your night suit. Don't 
sit in your room while it is being swept and dusted, as 
the dust will surely aggravate your cough. 



SLEEP. 

There is no time during the twenty-four hours when 
the brain is generating normal vibrations for the whole 
system to such an extent as when a patient is having 
his or her natural sleep. Thus wisely spoke the poet 
when he said, " Sleep is nature's great restorer." Then, 
as the noise, bustle and excitement of the day ceases to 
act upon the sensitive brain, its vibrations, under the 
hypnotic influence of a recumbent position, quiet and the 
darkness of night, lose their positive character, and 
become more and more negative, till finally the person 
sinks into the rest and sweet repose of sleep. Then, as 
sights go out, and the ear catches no echo of a din, 
memory puts on her nightcap of forgetfulness, and the 
whole being of man, lulled by the touch of night, nods a 
parting farewell to the passing day, and, lo ! cares, pains, 
aches and heart miseries go to sleep. To you, then, who 
are engaged in the struggle of fighting for your health, 
and whose sensitive organism suffers from the turmoils 
of the day, retire early and sleep late. Sleep through 
the day, if it does not materially affect your rest at 
night, for every nod hath its healing balm, and take 
it when it comes. If you have been in the habit of 
sitting up late nights, reading exciting stories or any 
other kind of literature for that matter, stop it forth- 
with. And, as for the pernicious habit of lying down 
and reading, either day or night, that never should be 
indulged in, as the increased circulation of blood to the 



196 GENERAL REMARKS. 

brain, as a result, is sure sooner or later to not only 
bring on insomnia, but other nervous diseases as well. 

Never sleep in a lighted room, since the combustion 
not only reduces the amount of oxygen in the air you 
breathe, but it generates a large volume of carbonic acid, 
which, added to that which you exhale from your lungs, is 
a quantity sufficient to render the air of your room unfit to 
breathe. Don't compromise the matter either by putting 
the lamp in the hallway or turning it part way down. 
Light, you should understand, is the positive state ; dark- 
ness, the negative. Sleep then in the dark ; it is the con- 
dition most favorable for slumber. Even when troubled 
with insomnia, never resort to anodynes and narcotics 
— such as opium, morphine, chloral, or any of the bro- 
mides — as rest induced by them is simply a species of 
stupor of an abnormal type, and in no manner whatever 
typical of natural sleep. "Understand, moreover, that 
their action will reduce your vital force with far greater 
rapidity than would otherwise take place without them, 
as it becomes used up in eliminating them from your 
system, as well as reducing the brain's vibrations. 

Besides, sleeplessness always results as a secondary 
action of any such drug that you may use to force it. The 
harm done by lying awake all night, or for several suc- 
cessive ones is never equal to the injury done by any 
of those poisons. The causes of sleeplessness are about 
as numerous as bad habits, any of which may be 
productive of insomnia. 

Nervousness, superinduced by tea, coffee and stimu- 
lants as direct causes, is met with very frequently. Still 
again, and perhaps the most prevalent of all causes, is 
that of keeping the mind in an excitable state most of the 
time through the day. This can readily be remedied by 
studiously and faithfully observing the rules laid down 
for you to follow in the chapter on anger. If your diges- 
tion is at fault, and your rest at night is badly 
disturbed, observe the advice given you in the chapter on 
diet, and you will no doubt get relief . A close, warm 
room may also make it about impossible for you to sleep 
well. If so, ventilate it thoroughly, and don't forget to 



SLEEP. 197 

leave the window open sufficiently to insure a good 
supply of cool, fresh air till morning. Don't worry 
about that antiquated bugbear, night air, as all air 
at that time is night air. Better breathe an atmosphere 
— even though it be damp — than to inhale your own 
breath over again. The first, though not as healthful as 
a good dry atmosphere, is yet far better, cleaner and 
healthier for you to breathe than to inhale over and over 
again, which you certainly do if you sleep in a close 
room, that vile decoction of carbonic acid, animal matter 
and moisture that you are continually giving off from your 
lungs in your apartments during the night, and which, as 
a matter of fact, practically grows filthy as the morning 
approaches. Fretting about home and its many responsi- 
bilities is accountable for many a long, sleepless night. To 
the friends of any sick person who is away from it 
seeking for health, and may be fighting for life itself, 
we would suggest that you strictly avoid filling your let- 
ters with complaints, business affairs, and news of such 
character as to make the invalid heartsore, homesick and 
sleepless. Rather let them be full of good cheer, 
love and hope. A letter from home is, indeed, a sweet 
morsel to the wanderer after health and strength. Fill 
it then with fun, honey, sunshine and kisses. 

You ask what is the best position to sleep in ? We 
unhesitatingly reply on the side of the abdomen. This 
we hold is in accordance with nature ; for, as far as man's 
physical organism is concerned, he is an animal, and per- 
haps with but few exceptions, such as the *s ampire hang- 
ing from its roost by its feet and wings, most animals 
sleep in that position. As it is, they never rest on their 
backs. Neither do we ever hear of a person having the 
nightmare when sleeping in the abdominal side position. 
There is a most excellent reason for this, and that is 
when persons sleep in that position they breathe slower, 
longer and deeper than they do when resting on the 
back. To be sure, we understand the necessity of chang- 
ing one's position, but then the variation of going 
from one abdominal side to the other, or from one side to 
the other, is all-sufficient; while sleeping on the back, es- 



198 GENERAL REMARKS. 

pecially for people with weak or diseased lungs, should 
never be resorted to only when there is some such dis- 
ease present as pleurisy, that makes resting in that posi- 
tion the least painful ; hence, a necessity for the time being. 

A disease of any of the organs of the thorax that 
requires sleeping in that position only emphasizes the fact 
that breathing, when resting in that way, is quicker, 
shorter and more superficial, and, as a result, less expan- 
sive. On the side, then, is the correct position for 
mouth-breathers to sleep in ; for, if they but simply bring 
the chin forward slightly on the chest, the mouth closes 
easily, the position helping to keep it so, while, on the 
contrary, sleeping on the back makes it very easy for the 
chin to drop down, and thus greatly facilitates mouth- 
breathing. Concerning the weak or diseased lung, 
it should never be compressed by the weight of the 
body by sleeping on it for hours at a time. If the trouble 
is located in any portion of the left lung, then rest or 
sleep as much as possible on the right abdominal side. 

If it is the right lung, then change your position. If 
pain, coughing or distress is the result, then lie on 
either side, with the knees flexed on the abdomen. Even 
sleeping flat on the abdomen is far better than on the 
back. Don't be afraid in reversing position that the 
mucus or discharge from the diseased lung will drop 
into the other one and inoculate the trouble there. That 
is not the way your disease spreads. When any sputa 
is discharged into the bronchial tubes you will cough and 
expectorate it. The position that will greatly aid drainage 
from the affected lung should always be taken, as it will 
greatly facilitate absorption as well as the healing 
process. 

In conclusion, we wish to point out the dangers of 
allowing any one to sleep with you, for in many such 
cases we find that the magnetic state of the two organ- 
isms may be so perfectly adjusted to each other that the 
more positive or healthy person absorbs vital force from 
the more negative or sick one, and thus keeps it so con- 
tinually depleted of it that it makes a cure impossible, no 
matter what may otherwise be done for his benefit. Then 



SLEEP. 199 

sleep alone, and take no such risk. Indeed, it has fre- 
quently been observed that when a person suffering from 
pulmonary phthisis slept alone that he or she so far re- 
gained health and strength as to warrant the hope that 
the disease had been entirely eradicated, only to find 
them rapidly failing again when they had a bed fellow. 
Now, don't say " fudge," for it is just possible that 
volumes might be written on just what you don't know 
about many such matters as these. We are fully aware 
that it will be cheaper for a married couple to engage 
one room, especially when away from home, than two. 
Still your feelings, and even your pocketbook, are not to 
be considered in any way possible when such a mo- 
mentous question as that of life itself is at stake. 
Neither should you permit another person, child 
or baby to occupy a bed in the same room with you, 
for, aside from the probability of your being harmed by 
them, you should consider their health by remembering 
that pulmonary phthisis is an infectious disease, espec- 
ially to those who are predisposed to it, and that they 
who sleep in the same room with you run a great risk of 
contracting it. Though marked symptoms of its de- 
velopment may not occur for a space of two or three 
years, yet it frequently manifests itself after such expos- 
ure in about a year. What physician has not noticed, 
time and again, that when one member of a family died 
of pulmonary phthisis that another followed the next 
year, and, even, in some cases another and another for 
several consecutive years. Be this as it may, you are not 
to lose sight of the never-to-be-forgotten fact that you 
are to breathe pure air all the time, night as well as day. 
And that, when two or more persons occupy the same 
sleeping room, that since they exhale in aggregate on an 
average fifteen hundred cubic inches of carbonic acid 
from their lungs every hour, or fifteen thousand during 
ten hours of the night, as well as to pollute the air with 
twice the quantity of moisture and animal matter that 
one person would, that the possibility of having pure air 
to breathe during that time would be reduced to a min- 
imum. Even when the door is left open between your 



200 GENEEAL REMARKS. 

room and that occupied by others, especially children, you 
should see to it that the ventilation in both is complete 

EEASONS WHY PATIENTS SHOULD LIVE AN 
OUT-DOOK LIFE. 

If you darken a room and allow a streak of sunshine 
to enter, you will see at once floating through it an innu- 
merable number of particles of matter of a conglomerate 
nature. Stamp your foot upon the carpet, and a still 
greater cloud of them will arise. The sun's rays aid you 
to see them in that particular place, but they are just as 
numerous in all other parts of the place as there, though 
not seen. Shake but an article of clothing, make but the 
slightest movement, and it will be all-sufficient to greatly 
increase them. 

Air laden in this manner with floating matter is the 
kind that folks usually breathe in-doors. 

But, if such is the case in a well-kept apartment, what 
about the condition of the atmosphere inhaled by indus- 
trial toilers in a thousand and one occupations, who work 
in-doors ten hours a day, and whose calling requires the 
unremitting manipulation and rough handling of a great 
variety of materials that are continually undergoing rapid 
disintegration? What untold billions of such atoms must 
be present, and inhaled by them ! 

Statistics inform us that this is the class from which 
a vast majority of consumptives come, while those who 
live an out-door life are almost proof against phthisis. 
As the air both in-doors and without is identically the 
same, with the possible exception that that within con- 
tains infinitely more of the above-mentioned atoms and 
odors, the question naturally arises as to just what 
degree they are accountable for the great prevalence of 
consumption among that class of people. Unnatural 
methods of living are common to all humanity, so we 
cannot look to them especially as the cause of the great 
difference. 

As it is, we have only spoken of those particles plainly 
visible, but what the unseen ones number, mathematics 



WHY PATIENTS SHOULD LIVE AN OUT-DOOR LIFE. 201 

only knows. But if we estimate those that are only seen 
when floating in the sunshine to be fifty to the square 
inch, and that every such inch in an ordinary room in- 
doors contains, at least, that many, and then multiply it 
first by twenty, next by eighteen, and the result by the 
number of minutes there are in twenty-four hours, and 
we would find that the average person who lived in-doors 
breathes-in no less than five hundred ten thousand and 
four hundred such specks during the above-mentioned 
period. 

And, notwithstanding one of the functions of the 
nostrils is to cleanse the air as it passes through them, a 
weakened or diseased state of the lungs reacts upon them, 
and impairs their power to do that work ; hence, in those 
cases, such floating atoms pass into the other re- 
spiratory organs, while, in the case of mouth-breathers, 
we might truthfully assert that most of them go directly 
into the lungs. Once there, it is evident that all of it 
that adheres to the mucous surface of any part, oris im- 
bedded in the diseased cellular structure, must be elimi- 
nated ; that is, either expectorated or absorbed. We know, 
however, that the lacteals are not endowed with either 
the power or function to absorb extraneous matter, and 
so it remains there till, by its irritating action, it stimu- 
lates mucus, and it is then expectorated by coughing. 
This explains why dust will make a person cough. But, 
even then, the latter cannot be ejected from the lungs 
without an expenditure of vital force, which accounts for 
the reason why a person with an organic affection of the 
lungs feels so exhausted after a severe coughing spell. 

Another fact of the greatest importance is that res- 
piration is much easier in the open air than in the house. 
When a person makes a great muscular exertion, he 
soon finds himself exhausted, the simple reason being 
that the effort causes an expenditure of vital force. If 
the same thing were done in an atmosphere containing 
but half the requisite amount of oxygen, he would be 
exhausted just twice as quick on account of the lungs 
having to labor twice as hard, the general stored-up vital 
power being used up twice as quick. 



202 GENERAL REMARKS. 

Now, breathing though an involuntary act can only 
be accomplished through the instrumentality of vital 
force. The lungs labor for a definite purpose ; namely, 
to obtain pure air containing oxygen to the extent of 
one-fifth of its volume. 

If it contains dust, microbes, humidity, animal mat- 
ter, odors and gases, and the lungs inhale it in that con- 
dition, they do not succeed in getting what they want, 
and so have to labor all the harder for it. And, since 
every extra effort so made draws upon the vitality of the 
organism, it is evident that continuous breathing under 
such great disadvantages is sure to cause a waste of 
it, and leaves the lungs weaker, especially if an or- 
ganic disease be present. When a person faints or grows 
rapidly weak from any cause whatever, windows are 
thrown open in order that he may breathe easier — which 
he does ; that is, he obtains the same amount of air with 
less effort. In a like manner this is in every respect appli- 
cable to all persons having weak or diseased lungs. In 
all those cases we find the respiration increased ; that is, 
there being both a loss of power and capacity, the latter 
involuntarily have to labor all the harder to supply the 
organism with the amount of oxygen that it requires, 
thus causing a continual drain upon the vital force of the 
system. Knowing, then, that an in-door life makes 
breathing more labored, and entails the above loss, and 
that living in the open air makes it not only much easier, 
but prevents that waste from occurring, it is evident that 
that is the life to lead for those having weak or affected 
lungs. 

Suppose a person with a diseased lung breathes 
twenty-five times a minute, or thirty-six thousand times 
in twenty-four hours, or one million and eighty thousand 
times in a month, and by living in the open air a trifle of 
vital force is saved with each breath, then it is evident 
that a million of such trifles saved during that period 
would be sufficient to leave his lungs much stronger than 
they otherwise would be had he continued to live in-doors 
during that time. 

An out-door life, then, is the one necessary for such a 



WHY PATIENTS SHOULD LIVE AN OUT-DOOR LIFE. 203 

person to live, and any cure proposed for pulmonary 
phthisis, no matter how scientific or otherwise reasonable 
it may be, that does not include this as one of its basic 
principles, will prove fallacious. 

To be sure, there are many things to consider about 
sleeping in the open air. Where the climate is very 
damp, and the land marshy and malarious, we would not 
advise it, not altogether on account of the risk run, for 
even then it is never as great as that of sleeping in a 
close room, but for the very reason that it is not at all 
necessary, since either a high, dry spot can be chosen 
just as well, or a condition almost equivalent to it, such 
as a large, dry, sunshiny room in the upper part of the 
house, with the windows either taken out or wide open. 

Indeed, notwithstanding the humidity and malarious 
state of its air, it would be perfectly feasible on most any 
part of Long Island for at least eight months in the 
year. An apartment for sleeping out of doors should be 
well roofed in, leaving an open space between it and the 
highest part of the wall, while the latter should be made 
of latticework on the outside, and cloth on the inside. 
Lay a good floor, with a space between it and the 
ground for perfect ventilation, for dampness, mildew or 
decayed vegetation should not be permitted under it. In 
this kind of a sleeping apartment, the benefits derived 
will be equal to that of sleeping in the open air. 

It will perfectly seclude the patient from draughts 
and insure a great plenty of pure air. Since the latter is 
a necessity in the cure of pulmonary phthisis, and nothing 
can be substituted in its place, then the out-door life is 
imperative. To be sure, in winter, a large ventilated 
room, with windows wide open, will suffice quite as well, 
provided the patient is otherwise properly clothed. 

Concerning the risk of sleeping in the open air, we 
have but to refer you to the experience of the Archdeacon 
Kirby, who, when taking long journeys of eight hundred 
miles over land on snowshoes in the middle of winter, 
slept in the snow every night while making the trip. He 
would simply get into a bag like-gown, made of skins, 
and, after scooping out a hole in the snow, get into it, 



204 GENERAL REMARKS. 

leaving an open space through which he could obtain 
pure air, and there he would peacefully rest ensconced 
for the night, and wake up bright, vigorous and without 
the slightest indications of a cold in the morning. Not- 
withstanding Indians and Esquimaux live an out-door 
life, a great many of them are reported to die of con- 
sumption. Whether this be true or not, we can't say. 
"We know that the former are often starved to death or 
the next thing to it, and so through a loss of vitality in 
this way may contract that disease. 

As for the latter, while they live in the open air by 
day, we know that they shut themselves up in their ice 
huts in the night, and there, through its long hours, 
breathe the vilest kind of air ; and, if any of them escape 
dying with phthisis, they must, indeed, be tough, and 
such results should teach the weak-lunged person that 
living in the open air by day, and close room by night, 
will never do for him or the consumptive. 

Again, since science has demonstrated that the animal- 
culee found in stagnant water are instantly killed by the 
direct rays of the sun, we hold that, as between the air 
enclosed within the walls of a house and that laden with 
sun rays, that the latter is the one to breathe. Indeed, 
since all kinds of germ life require to be protected from 
the sun's rays in order to exist, it is evident that direct 
sunshine is death to microbes. Many forms of such life 
will thrive on the under side of a leaf, its shadow being 
sufficient to protect them. This is proof that the half- 
darkened rooms of a house are a very favorable place for 
the propagation of microbes even in the air, and that, in 
order to escape inhaling them, the patient must live in 
the open air and sunshine. 

PHYSICAL EXERCISES. 

While one's lungs are diseased he is a very sick pa- 
tient, and requiring him to take physical exercise is about 
as absurd as it would be to direct a person to take it 
having typhoid fever. After the lungs, however, have 
healed, and the person has regained his weight and 



PHYSICAL EXEKCISES. 205 

strength, he should begin a gentle course of physical 
culture. Now, the few following hints will be of great 
service to him by way of making his endeavors a success, 
if he but bears them in mind. The correct principle to 
follow in the matter of physical training is to first 
develop the wind by lung exercises only. To be sure, 
they will cause a marked development of the thorax, 
but never sufficient to make it muscle-bound, a thing 
always to be avoided when beginning to train. Hav- 
ing developed the wind sufficiently, all training should be 
from the feet up. This is in accordance with the laws of 
nature. The tree, without it was well rooted in the earth, 
would be top-heavy. So, a man should have strong feet 
and legs under him. This is his foundation, and on it he 
should build — from below upwards. Developing from 
above downwards is too much like building in the air. 
This is the trouble with many athletes. They begin their 
training by first developing the muscles of their arms and 
thorax, and as a result rarely have superb wind ; while 
their legs, being but a secondary consideration, are never 
as highly developed as the upper part of their body. 

Now, since a structure can never be stronger than its 
foundation, so an athlete can never be stronger in his 
body or arms than he is in his legs. Neither can there be 
perfect development of the physical system without good 
wind for a basis. Once that is built up, suppleness 
and agility are easily acquired, but never when it is 
lacking. Begin, then, with the feet, and strengthen the 
whole muscular system from below upwards — calves, 
thighs, back, abdomen, neck, and, lastly, arms and thorax. 
All exercises of the latter materially aid the development 
of the wind, the advantage being, then, to develop it 
by leaving the muscles of the thorax as supple as 
possible till the lungs have reached their maximum 
expansion. For persons who have recovered from 
severe lung disease, physical exercise should at first be 
gentle, but made effective by method. Anything like 
severe training should be avoided, since they always have 
the effect on them that it does on persons who have over- 
trained, and as a result, in the parlance of the sporting 



206 GENERAL KEMARKS. 

fraternity, go stale. As for the exercises to take, a work 
devoted exclusively to that matter is necessary. They 
should, however, be natural and devoid of all machinery, 
clubs or heavy dumb-bells. Don't try to be an athlete 
under any circumstances. 

TOUE PHYSICIAN. 

A very serious question now confronts you, and that 
is to what extent you are to rely on your physician for a 
cure. Let us see, then, just what he can really do for 
you. He can give his diagnosis and prognosis of your 
case ; point out defects in your physical organism, such 
as a bony protrusion closing up your nostrils, and thus 
interfering with proper breathing and consequent loss of 
vital power and vital capacity; the ill consequences of 
stooping habitually and not standing erect ; the necessity 
of inhaling pure air all the time; lung exercises that 
will be beneficial ; prescribe medicine, and give you ad- 
vice in a general way, concerning a change of climate, 
proper diet and clothing. What more can he do ? Is it 
not obvious, then, that no matter what his ability may 
be that his field is very limited, and that he is no more 
to be regarded as your sole reliance than your architect 
would be for the building of your house. Don't think 
that, because he may possibly be eminent in his profes- 
sion, that all you have to do is to faithfully take the 
medicine he prescribes, yet otherwise live not only an 
abnormal existence as far as the laws of nature are con- 
cerned, but pretty much the same old life that aided so 
materially in bringing on your disease. If you do, you 
will surely be aroused, sooner or later, to the horror of 
your situation, and realize, in its full significance, that 
your doctor's reputation was evidently not made in cur- 
ing phthisis. Who is to blame ? Is his failure to cure 
you due to his poor treatment, or to your stupid, careless 
indifference? Don't flatter yourself that you are a far 
more intelligent patient than he is a skilled physician. 
Even if you have tried to the best of your ability to do 
right in all things, it is no proof that you have ; yet, he 



YOUR PHYSICIAN. 207 

could not be held responsible for it. Give an account of 
yourself while under his treatment. Did you live out- 
doors most of the time by day, and have your room per- 
fectly ventilated at night? If you did not, and could 
not, who is to blame ? Because the weather was a little 
damp or cold, did you make your room almost air-tight ? 

Were you not more fearful of catching cold than 
you were of breathing impure air ? How about being- 
one of many that gathered evening after evening in a 
close sitting-room or parlor where the air was not only 
overheated, but positively unfit for you to inhale. If so, 
who is responsible for ill consequences ! Did you abide 
faithfully by the diet he had ordered, avoiding, on all 
occasions, tea, coffee and highly-spiced food, as well as 
those infernal condiments, such as mustard, and so forth ? 
Did you not cater to your old tastes for such things as 
you liked, rather than make the few little sacrifices that 
he required of you ? How about those long walks and 
rides that fatigued you so ? Did you wind up your busi- 
ness affairs, as he ordered you, or did you keep them 
going, and, as a consequence, fuss and fret most of the 
time about them ! Did you succeed in controlling your 
temper, or, on the contrary, didn't you give way to it on 
all occasions, and so keep yourself in a highly excitable 
mental state most of the time? If so, don't blame your 
doctor ; for, if he were omnipotent, he could not heal you 
while in that state of mind. Did you comply faithfully 
with his directions concerning all these things neces- 
sary to effect a cure in your case ? Did you start the day 
frequently with having something to do, or somewhere to 
go, that required, according to your matured thought on 
the matter, as an essential preliminary, a good cup of cof- 
fee — weak, of course — followed by a mild cigar, and later 
on a feeble cocktail, with very little water in it ? 

You have a great capacity for taking medicine ; how 
about your ability for acting the part of a wise, thought- 
ful, discreet patient with depth enough to comprehend 
the necessity of co-operating with your doctor in his en- 
deavor to cure you? Don't fume and blame him then ; 
for, if you are not cured, it will be largely, if not entirely, 



208 GENERAL REMARKS. 

your own fault, as far as that is possible. Or, if a 
female patient, you not only live indoors most of the time, 
but how about enjoying your fancies and whims that 
cause you in many little details to act diametrically op- 
posite to your physician's explicit directions ? Did you 
not follow them enthusiastically for a day, then resume 
the nature of your former do-nothing life, but take your 
medicine and exist in a way that most effectually elimi- 
nated everything required of you that possessed in any 
degree what you are pleased to term "fuss and bother V 
The plain fact of the matter is you go to your phy- 
sician to be drugged, and you know it, and so does he, 
and he forthwith accommodates you. Tou gulp it down 
w r ith avidity, having the air of a person indulging the 
blissful fancy that it contains an element that makes en- 
tirely unnecessary all effort by you; even consider it 
in the light of a possible tubercular eradicatcr, or the 
Great Magic Microbe Slayer of the age. It does not oc- 
cur to you that the logic of the situation is that, if his 
advice is all fuss and bother, that his prescription cannot 
possibly be a decoction of concentrated wisdom. If your 
mind is weak and vacillating, it cannot by any means 
change it, or act as a substitute for a grand persistency 
of purpose that counts nothing a sacrifice that is for your 
welfare, and so rides over all opposition as the emer- 
gencies of your case demand. He is w r ell aware, and you 
should know, that medicine or advice can by no means 
take the place of pure air at all times, plenty of sunshine 
and sleep, proper nourishment, peace of mind free from 
all domestic and business troubles, change of climate, the 
right kind of clothing, lung power and capacity, as well 
as the wisdom and knowledge that would enable you to 
take advantage of all things that might in many ways 
be utilized to your advantage. To be sure, you can go to 
him occasionally, but bear in mind he cannot be always 
with you exercising his knowledge, wisdom and judgment 
in your defense. He cannot eat, sleep, think, act and 
breathe for you. He can simply be the finger on the 
guidepost pointing the way you must travel alone. If 
you depend on him to work miracles on you at so 



DRUGGING. 209 

much per office call, you will find yourself in a short time 
not only a sadder and wiser but a much sicker person. 
Bear in mind rather that, if you, and your ancestors be- 
fore you, transgressed the laws of nature, ignorantly or 
otherwise, that you must go humbly and submit to her 
terms as the price of your recovery. Don't imagine that 
you can ignore her, and substitute any physician's finite 
knowledge for her inexorable demands. You will find 
that drugging is not the road to health and happiness, as 
the millions who have tried in the past would testify had 
they a voice in the matter. If dissipations, follies and 
ignorance have successfully plied their insidious arts in 
the destruction of your health, 'tis not in the potency of 
medicine to, "hocus-pocus-like," restore you again. Turn 
to nature and be healed. Your physician is only to be 
considered when he wisely interprets her teaching for 
your good. 

DBUGGING. 

There is a class of doctors who will drug you if you 
give them an opportunity, on the plea that you come to 
them for that purpose, and so it would never do to dis- 
appoint you. They will do it even when well aware that 
for thousands of years millions of medical men have tried 
untold billions of remedies and compounds, and yet 
have never made a bona fide cure of pulmonary phthisis. 
They will not do it maliciously, but simply mistake their 
calling, and say it is professional to prescribe something. 
They are a class to whom it never seems that their drugs 
may possibly do great harm to you. They seem to think 
that because it is given to relieve or aid that any possi- 
bility of its helping to kill you is out of the question, and 
yet it is not. Happily, however, in these days, physicians 
almost universally inform their patients that medicine is 
only to be regarded as an incidental aid in the cure of 
phthisis, and never to be entirely relied on. As for heroic 
drugging, we wish to say that we have never yet met a 
patient suffering from that disease who had been so 
treated but what, instead of being helped, had been not 



210 GENERAL REMARKS. 

only seriously harmed, and actually hurried into the 
grave by it, no matter who the physician was. Then 
don't burden your already weak organism with shot-gun 
prescriptions, as each and every one of them is but a 
blind, harmful experiment, based on a hope to cure, more 
flighty and erratic, if judged from a serious standpoint, 
than the aimless wanderings of an insane mind. 

But, if drugging by the professional is baneful, what 
is it when you voluntarily make your system a sewerage 
for such vile nostrums as are usually compounded by 
illiterate quacks. Then don't, in a moment of weakness 
and desperation, succumb to the blandishments of their 
flowery advertisements of sure and magic cures of all 
pulmonary diseases, and say : " "Well, it only costs a dol- 
lar a bottle ; I'll try one ; it can't kill me." If you were 
as sure it would not harm you as you were that it wouldn't 
kill you, it would be the least matter. As it is, then, if 
you avoid them, you run no risk of getting your whole 
system disturbed by them. Furthermore, don't, for a 
moment, allow yourself to be hoodwinked by those wily 
philanthropists who have in their possession a prescrip- 
tion for the cure of consumption that was given them by 
some dead missionary from some far-off region of the 
earth, and who, accordingly, advertise, if you communi- 
cate with them and enclose a two-cent stamp, they will 
mail you the receipt, in reply, free of cost. 

Do so, and you will, when you receive it, find en- 
closed a statement to the effect that while you may, 
after much annoyance and expense, be able to get the 
remedy, they can save you all such trouble by sending it 
directly to you, as the demands made on them for the 
medicine oblige them to keep it on hand, and if you wish 
to buy a half dozen bottles at cost they will accom- 
modate you on the receipt of a five-dollar bill, or a postal 
order for that amount. If you but stop and consider for 
a moment, you will readily see that, if the prescription 
was one of value, it would be easy for the medical pro- 
fession to obtain it in a like manner and use it univer- 
sally as a cure for that disease. 

Then don't permit yourself to be drugged in this 



DRUGGING. 211 

way by becoming the victim of a patent-medicine ven- 
der. Now, regarding cod-liver oil, and its varied pre- 
pared emulsions : understand, once for all, that it and 
all pure fats of any description contain no nutriment or 
tissue-making properties whatever, but are simply made 
of hydrogen and carbon, and are known, chemically- 
speaking, as " hydro-carbonates." To be sure, they will, if 
properly assimilated, feed the organism with fat, and, in 
a degree, aid the heating process of the body ; otherwise, 
they are worthless. It will do no harm for you to take 
pure cod-liver oil, or any other fat for that matter, pro- 
vided it agrees with you, and in no manner whatever in- 
terferes with your appetite for nourishing food. If it 
does, then stop it at once, as it is indispensable that your 
stomach should not be disturbed. 

Don't take any of its emulsions, and you will thus 
avoid the possibility of taking the other ingredients with 
which they are compounded, as you will do better with- 
out them. Never take cod-liver oil, then, with the under- 
standing that it is a medicine to be taken at all hazards, 
no matter how it may disturb you. The next thing for 
you to consider is just how you are to know when a 
medicine that you are taking agrees with you or not. If 
you find it disturbs your appetite ; causes headache or 
roaring in the ear ; nausea, vomiting or loathing of food, 
sleepiness or great sleeplessness, nervousness, constipa- 
tion or diarrhoea ; excessive flow of saliva, perspiration ; or, 
in fact, interferes whatever with the otherwise normal 
state of any organ or its proper function, then stop it, as 
the healthy natural action of your system is more essen- 
tial to a cure of your lung trouble than all such medicines 
in existence. Don't continue it either for a few days, 
thinking and hoping that your stomach will get used to 
it, and that you will then surely begin to feel the good 
effects of it, for you will be sadly and wofully disap- 
pointed as well as injured. Even when a remedy is 
acting well, it should not be taken continually, but at 
longer and longer intervals, even resting for days between 
each dose. As for the character of medicine, you should 
never resort to anodynes, except when in extreme pain, 



212 GENERAL REMARKS. 

and then only by a physician's advice. On the same 
general principles, opium, in any and all of its forms — 
such as paregoric and laudanum, dover powders and 
cough mixtures that may contain it — should be avoided. 
Don't experiment with yourself either or allow any one 
else to, or take the million and one specifics that 
kind and sympathetic friends and neighbors will recom- 
mend to you, even if they obtain them for you at their 
own expense, not one of which can possibly cure you. 
Beware of all kinds of tonics, as they, at best, can only 
stimulate your system for a few days at most only to 
leave it later on broken down and worn out. And, as you 
value your life or have a hope for the future, don't take 
those cough mixtures that will simply stop the cough for 
the time being and by no means remove the disease that 
causes it. These medicines act by simply reducing the 
power of the cellular tissue involved to attract vibrations 
from the brain. But every time any pain or disturbance 
is thus palliated, the part is left in a more negative or 
weakened condition, making a rapid destruction of the 
diseased tissue inevitable. 



MEDICAL TBEATMENT. 

We have purposely refrained from going into the 
question of medical treatment for any and all of the 
diseases mentioned in this work for two very good rea- 
sons, one of which is that this book is not designed for 
physicians, but for their patients, and we have no desire 
to interfere in any manner whatever between them. The 
other is that we have learned from experience that they, 
as a class, are not only prone to experimenting on them- 
selves with different kinds of medicine, but to depend- 
ing on them also, and thus leaving undone many such 
important things as lung exercise. We wish to say to 
the patient that it is all-sufficient for you to faithfully 
carry into effect the advice given you in this work, and 
leave the question of medicine exclusively to your 
physician. Understand, more, that no matter what his 



MEDICAL TREATMENT. 213 

treatment may be, or how skilled he is in its application, 
it can only prove successful so far as it is founded on the 
basic principles of a normal life on your part. Your 
physician will do his best ; but, if you do nothing, or 
wittingly, or even unwittingly, do your worst, then no 
matter what the treatment may be, it will avail nothing. 
We have repeatedly advised you against the fatal mistake 
of permitting yourself to be drugged, and so we here 
find it incumbent on us to warn you against going to the 
other extreme, and taking no medicine whatever, or sub- 
stituting, as many do, a change of climate for everything, 
medicine included. The change above referred to is 
often a necessity, and one without which all other 
means might fail, more especially in advanced cases ; 
but it should simply be regarded as a means to an end, 
and not the only thing to be done on for a cure. 

A change of climate alone is not to be depended upon 
to heal these cases, as many a poor soul has realized. 
A complete circuit of conditions is necessary, and none of 
them should be omitted nor one be expected to take the 
place of all the others. The basic principles of right 
living are pure air, an outdoor life in the sun as far as the 
patient's condition will permit, as well as a change of 
climate, when necessary, and lungs exercise. The latter 
must, under all circumstances, be included, since by 
them can the lungs be made positive enough to repel all 
abnormal positive vibrations. 

Kemedies that also control vomiting after it has con- 
tinued off and on for a year — almost with the first dose — 
stop pain, relieve the cough, night sweats, diarrhoea and 
haemorrhage, and frequently act so powerfully in cases 
where the lung capacity is still fair as to virtually eradi- 
cate the whole disease, are not to be cast aside when you 
make a change of climate. Drugging is one thing, but 
the giving of minute doses of the specific remedy is quite 
another. A little of the latter is all that is required, even 
in the treatment of pulmonary phthisis, and a large 
quantity of the wrong medicine, or any number of them 
when compounded, even though they one and all have 
cyclinic powers, can never take the place of a little of the 



214 GENERAL REMARKS. 

right remedy any more than a good deal of foolishness can 
take the place of a little common sense. 

And yet many patients seem to think that, because the 
dose is large, it must necessarily be the right thing. It 
is almost universally admitted among physicians in these 
days that there is not even a remote possibility of a drug 
being discovered that will ever cure pulmonary phthisis, 
and that heroic dosing is harmful rather than in any 
degree beneficial. And, notwithstanding we know there 
are remedies, when given in minute doses, that will often 
eradicate all predisposition to a development of that 
disease, and though we have repeatedly seen every vestige 
of the complaint disappear under their action, even in 
the apex and hemorrhagic stages when complicated 
with a cavity, still, when there is marked loss of lung 
power as well as capacity, it is not in any kind of 
medicine, big doses or little ones, to alone bring about a 
cure, and so, in no case, either in the incipient or advanced 
stages of this complaint, should we be justified in de- 
pending entirely on it. Hence, while the small dose is 
never to be disregarded as a very efficient aid, it is not 
for a moment to be considered in any other light than 
such. The design and limits of this work will not 
permit us to fully enter upon our general course of 
treatment for the eradication of that disease, and so we 
are obliged to defer even touching upon that subject. 

ADVANTAGES OF A SANITAKIUM FOR THE 
TREATMENT AND CURE OF PULMONARY 
PHTHISIS. 

Hospitals are filled with patients having curable dis- 
eases. Many of them are acute functional disturbances, 
such as rheumatism, ulceration of the stomach, surgical 
and lying-in cases. There is a concurrence of opinion 
among all schools of medicine that almost all diseases are 
more successfully treated when the patient is governed 
and controlled by the rules of an institution. But if 
curable cases which are insignificant compared with pul- 



SANITARIUM FOR TREATMENT OF PULMONARY PHTHISIS. 215 

monary phthisis require the restraining influence of a 
hospital to obtain the best possible results, surely the 
phthisical patient is all the more in need of like sur- 
roundings and restraints in order to make a cure possible. 
We rarely meet with consumptive patients either in 
public or private institutions. The fact is they are not 
wanted, the excuse being that incurable cases are not 
admitted. Thus, these poor afllicted invalids, with sick 
bodies and minds, are left to judge and act for them- 
selves, and so we find them generally drifting from doc- 
tor to doctor, place to place, and may be clime to clime, 
as well as otherwise living the life that makes a cure of 
their case impossible. 

If there is any class of patients in this world who 
require constant surveillance and a powerful will to con- 
trol them, it is this very one. Having an ulcerated as 
well as other diseased condition of the lungs, they require 
far more attention than a person having ulceration of the 
stomach. "Then," you ask, "why put the latter in a hos- 
pital, and refuse an entrance to the former V It is not 
that the medical profession are insensible to their condition 
and suffering, for they are not. For they of all classes of 
men upon the earth — let them be of whatever school they 
may — they are doing a noble work; and, doing the best 
they can, they may well challenge angels to do better. 
The reason of their non-admittance is that they feel 
helpless in the presence of this disease, and so have to 
refuse to burden our institutions with those they cannot 
heal at the expense of those they can. Still we know — 
and we wish to have it understood that we do not use 
that word as synonymous with belief, for we speak not 
only as a physician, but as a patient who has recovered 
from an organic affection of the lungs, or pulmonary 
phthisis in almost the second stage — that a large number 
of these cases can positively be cured when properly 
managed and skillfully treated, even in a surprisingly 
short time, all things being considered. The require- 
ments are for such patients to be placed either in a public 
or private institution, where they are free from the 
world's many annoyances ; where the proper diet can be 



216 GENERAL REMAKES. 

prescribed for each individual case ; physical exhaustion 
prevented ; squandering of vital force stopped ; the re- 
cumbent position insisted upon when fever is present ; 
the skin kept in a state of cleanliness ; proper clothing of 
the body ; exercise of the lungs at certain definite inter- 
vals; the colon kept in a perfect hygienic condition; 
medical treatment given for all functional disturbances ; 
an out-door life and plenty of sunshine. 

We know from personal experience that these pa- 
tients, when affected, are listless, and averse to effort in 
the way of lung exercise, and, when feeling better, going 
to the other extreme, and exhaust themselves. They 
are not easily controlled in private practice, but, when 
the inmates of an institution, they can be made to meet 
the requirement of its every rule. 

AN APPEAL. 

At the present time, in almost all civilized countries 
of the world, there are formed societies for the preven- 
tion of cruelty to animals and children, as well as for 
other benevolent purposes, all of which are very well in 
their way. But, when we compare the number of cruel- 
ties practiced upon animals and children with the world's 
millions who are annually dying of pulmonary phthisis, 
it would appear as though the latter were of the fright- 
ful proportions of a thousand epidemics of the ordinary 
kind that sweep across a nation, and the former a mere 
overworked sentiment. Don't understand from this that 
we are not in favor of these societies ; for we are. But 
they should not claim philanthropic attention to the 
exclusion of those just as worthy and helpless, as well as 
a thousand times as numerous. 

To be sure, there are a few homes for consumptives, 
where none are cured, and all die — not an enviable repu- 
tation to those to whom life is still dear. Then there is 
left the poor-farm — the pauper's refuge. But pride 
pleads for the grave rather than dishonor. And so thou- 
sands refuse to go into them, and shut themselves up in 
close, unventilated rooms, where they unwittingly outrage 



AN APPEAL. 217 

every law of health, and otherwise make impossible any 
hope of cure, while they eke out the remainder of their 
days. Hidden from the world's gaze, it has scarce an 
idea of their existence, and where is there even an 
obscure hamlet in the world that has not its quota of 
these suffering mortals ? Talk about the fatherhood of 
God and the brotherhood of man — are they not worthy 
even of the sympathy given animals? Are idiots and 
insane of more consequence than they? Then, why 
should not every State in the Union have its sanitarium 
for these afflicted ones, situated even in another State, 
where they could live practically an out-door life in the 
sunshine most of the year around ? And, as far as phil- 
anthropic bequests are concerned, why should academies 
and colleges that are often self-supporting and generally 
patronized by the wealthy receive most of them, and 
nothing done for this class so worthy of all help and sym- 
pathy? And why should not the various religious 
denominations make an effort to save such of their mem- 
bers as may be stricken with this disease by starting 
self-supporting institutions into which they could enter 
in honorable standing at a very reasonable rate per week? 
Let us not turn away the poor, either; for, " being of God, 
inasmuch as ye do it unto the least of these, ye do it unto 
Me." If we are to " praise God, from whom all blessings 
flow," it seems that we should divide some of them with 
those who need them as much as they do. While of those 
whole-souled philanthropists let me inquire if you know 
on God's green earth any class of people more worthy of 
your charity than this same class. Which would be the 
more pleasing to you — to help cram a student's head with 
Latin and Greek, or stop suffering and save lif e ? This 
is work for angels to do ; and we are satisfied that institu- 
tions could be started — an entrance to which might be 
brought within the means of almost any poor mortal — 
where scientific efforts could be made to cure, and not 
merely palliate, their sufferings. 



